ISAF Council voted keelboats out of the Olympics today when the slate, previously adopted by the Events Committee, achieved a majority(19/37) of the votes cast. The news that the Star keelboat would be dropped had been feared for some time. ISAF confirmed events for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition last night at its 2011 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting in St Petersburg, Russia. ISAF President Göran Petersson led the ISAF Council in more than three hours of debate and discussion before the ten events were decided. Over 50 Submissions were received for consideration following the changes to the process for selecting events and equipment that was agreed in November 2010.
The ten events selected by the ISAF Council for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition are:
Men's Board or Kiteboard - evaluation
Women's Board or Kiteboard - evaluation
Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser
Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Men's 2nd One Person Dinghy - Finn
Men's Skiff - 49er
Women's Skiff – Evaluation
Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Mixed Two Person Multihull - Evaluation
The Vote
In November 2010, a provisional list of Events and Equipment ("the slate") was agreed by the ISAF Council. Since then, ISAF received over 50 Urgent Submissions which proposed alternative slates. A two-stage voting process, similar to that used by the IOC when choosing a host city for the Olympic Games, was used to decide the final list.
After the first stage, seven Submissions went through to the second stage of voting. There was a palpable sense of tension in the meeting room as the Council awaited the results of the second stage.
About the ISAF Council
The ISAF Council is the final decision making body of ISAF. It is chaired by the President who was elected along with seven Vice-Presidents for a four year term in 2008. The Council also includes the other members of the Executive Committee, Presidents of Honour and a Treasurer (all non-voting). There are also 29 appointed members who represent each of the regional gropus of sailing nations, and representatives of the Oceanic and Offshore Committee, the ISAF Classes Committee, the Women's Forum and the Athlete's Commission (non-voting).
At the 2010 ISAF Annual Conference, Council agreed that the process for selecting the Olympic Events and Equipment should be changed and approved new Regulation 23.
The report from the Olympic Commission recommended the change as a way to better serve the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) and sailors and to provide greater continuity for the sport between Olympic Games' and create a system for Equipment evolution.
Other decisions made in St Petersburg
A full report of the decisions made in St Petersburg will be published in the minutes, these include:
• Decisions on the core events for 2020 were deferred until the 2011 Annual Conference in November.
• 29er XX granted Recognized Class Status
• 2014 Youth Olympic Games Events confirmed as: Boy's Windsurfer, Girl's Windsurfer, Boy's One Person Dinghy and Girl's One Person Dinghy.
• Olympic Class World Championships set to continue
• A single ranking system for the Olympic events to be operational from 2013 onwards.
