Class Politics are the class rules legal

dinghybitz

New Member
We have been looking into the legailty of the class rules and wonder if they are in fact illegal due to new anti competition legislation in Europe ie only one supplier. Has anybody else got any thoughts on this?
 
Another aspect where they almost certainly fail (or might fail) is re: sexual discrimination (in Europe anyway). I don't think lawyers have looked at some aspects of things yet.


Ian
 
...and wonder if they are in fact illegal due to new anti competition legislation in Europe ie only one supplier...

Hi "dinghybitz", please give us the exact source of the European law, that you describe by saying:"new anti competition legislation in Europe". Sounds interesting what you say. I can't imagine the whole classrule is illegal. The rules are poor worded in this or those point of view, yes (all that has already been discussed here in the past, f.e. in 2004), but there are institutions at the ISAF that whatch over all classrules of the ISAF sailing classes and prove them about their legality, I guess.

Ciao
LooserLu
 
I think maybe "dinghybitz" is confusing Class rules with actual law.

In North America we have laws against a "monopoly" which says you can't have all of one type of service or product supplied by only one business. (so that they can't charge outrageous prices for whatever it is). This might be the same as he is referring to as anti competition legislation.

But that law does not apply towards, for example, the Laser builder. He owns the franchise to build Lasers, and anyone else who builds what he calls a Laser does not have access to the exact specs of the Class-legal boat. It does not really count as a "monopoly" because, well, there are other sailboats you can buy. (Where our builders REALLY have a monopoly is on the Class-legal parts they sell us, and yes, they do rip us off somewhat on those prices but . . . it is a necessary evil.)

Under the legislation here, "Laser" is just another brand name of sailboat. Like Coke is just another brand name of flavored, fizzy water in a can.

The Class Rules are written and enforced by your Class Association to keep the one-design purity of the Laser Class AFTER the consumer buys a gen-u-wine Laser from their dealer. They protect you, the consumer, and the value of your boat and (except in the case of the Laser parts as mentioned above) are not designed for somebody to make money off Laser sailors.

Can't go out and put hydrofoils on the bottom then expect to race at a Laser regatta, now can you? Your Class Rules keep the racing fair by keeping the boats as equal as they can possibly be, so then the best sailor wins. Theoretically, (in a perfect world) there are no "fast" boats.
 
Your Class Rules keep the racing fair by keeping the boats as equal as they can possibly be, so then the best sailor wins. Theoretically, (in a perfect world) there are no "fast" boats.

Are you suggesting that OD rule is communist infiltration? :eek:

oh my lord! Are we all terrorist sleepers controlled by the evil ILCA?

Someone call Homeland Security!

Actually, if I heard someone was going to attack the ILCA and seek the destruction of the laser class on the basis of sexism or anti-competition laws, I'd suspect they were spies from the local foiling club.

If anyone sees people like this, trip them up and rub their faces in the sand. That'll teach them.
 
Last time I looked at this thread, there was a suitably irreverent post by old Geezer summarizing the non-sense responses.

Oh Well.

Meanwhile I will take a shot at being the first to response to the opening post:

The Laser Class rules apply only to those who choose to race a particular trademarked product.

Consider a Bayer Asprin spitting contest.

The Bayer Aspirin Spitting Association might write rules saying, "Only Aspirin from factory sealed Bayer brand bottles may be used in our competitions."
Anybody could hold aspirin spitting contests. People could enjoy those contests and use any aspirin from any manufacturer.

No one is being prevented from building 14 foot sailboats. No one is being prevented from writing rules and holding races.

In the case of the ILCA, a group of people have decided to purchase equipment from ony one builder and to hold races where the only invitees are owners of boats from that builder.

I don't know if forming such a group is illegal or not.

I also don't know whether it is any different from holding a golf tournament and allowing use of only Nike Clubs and Titelist balls in that tournament.
I do think it is the same in that nobody who is sponsored by another manufacturer and who uses that manufacturer's equipment would show up.

In other words, I believe the world of sailboat racing would benefit from having an ISAF approved size and shape of boat ( like golf balls and clubs have rules) so that all the world's sporting equipment manufacturers could compete for the singlehanded sailboat racing market.)

But...MOney MOney money...

Currently the Laser manufacturers support ISAF.

What incdentive does ISAF have for cutting their umbilical cord?
 
Last time I looked at this thread, there was a suitably irreverent post by old Geezer summarizing the non-sense responses.

Old Geezer's post had no content relating to this thread and contained only snide comments on the new forum policy. Therefore, it was moved to the Complaint thread.

To reiterate, here is the new policy:
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Just to clarify, the new policy is as follows:
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