came into existence. In that time the number of countries involved
has grown to more than 60 and the equipment tolerances have
become second to none
It is with this in mind that the Class held its seventh Annual General Meeting in Cadiz, Spain during the 2012 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships. We would specifically like to draw your attention to the following decisions. The class voted...
#1. To retain the existing equipment without change
#2. To fully explore the concept of 'Provided Equipment' for mandatory charter at selected major events and asked the RS:X Executive to negotiate a suitable package with Neil Pryde for approval at the 2013 AGM
#3. To make major class regattas almost entirely paperless. The web based official notice board will be accessed on site on one or more touch screens
Equipment Evolution
Believe me there was a lively discussion about this issue during the meeting. The key point was the strong growth that the RS:X class has experienced over the last 4 years as shown by the 54 nations that have taken part in the Olympic Q events. The conclusion was therefore to stick with the existing equipment thereby maximizing the investment already made by MNAs...
Provided Equipment
And to expand the number of countries racing RS:X round the world even further by moving to mandatory charter of provided equipment at major events. This was also a point of lively discussion. The outcome was to empower the RS:X Executive Committee to negotiate with Neil Pryde Windsurfing with a view to adopting a 'provided equipment for major events model' much like the International Laser Class have historically done at their world championships for approval by the next AGM in February 2013
The concept is to ensure that the 4 major RS:X events move to provided equipment and are joined by 2 SWC events yet to be decided.
The Paperless Regatta
The class has worked with others over the last 4 years to help them develop a digital dashboard for use at major regattas. This provides almost instant results, tracking and other media and was the key to attracting 94,457 unique visitors to the RS:X micro-site in the seven race days of the 2012 Worlds.
One aspect of this is that the documents posted official notice board on the venue including jury hearings and decisions have been also available on-line.
The class agreed to move to an entirely 'digital official notice board' provided that a touch screen TV is made available on the venue on which the ONB can be viewed.
The sports presentation of the RS:X Class is second to none. It attracts a lot of media and has more than 60 member countries ~ The RS:X men's fleet in Perth was bigger in terms of nations than even the Laser men's fleet ~ Our ambition is to build on this success and with your help we can do so
We therefore ask you to encourage your ISAF Mid Year Meeting delegates to vote for 'windsurfing men' and 'windsurfing women' as the two boards events to take part in the 2016 Olympic Regatta.
2012 RS:X World Championships Media Report
