European Entries To Worlds

L

limey

New Member
Now that Laser have taken over Vanguard the Sunfish is being sold in Europe. However i note from the Worlds entry list that no provision is made for European Entries. How therefore does someone from one of the European member states enter the World championships especially if there have not yet been enough boats sold to form an association. ??? Will this issue be addressed for next year
 
Any country not previously recognized by the ISCA may qualify up to two sailors at the World Championship if they can form an NSCA that
must have a minimum of five members that have paid their dues to the ISCA by May first of the year of the Championship.”
The top ten (10) finishers at the previous World Championship and all former and current World Champions automatically qualify in addition
to the quotas for their countries. Also, the top five (5) finishers at the European and South American Championships and the winner of the
Masters International Championship are eligible to compete in addition to country quotas. In addition, the North American, South American,
and European Champions for the prior three (3) years also qualify for the World Championship. Alternates will not be selected to fill these
places should the qualifier be unable to attend.
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At least two European countries have NSCA and there may be more
 
Europe consists of rather more than two countries !!! So if you own a Sunfish and live in one of the other numerous European states but currently have insufficient members to form a NSCA how under the existing rules do you enter the "World ".
Certainly not by means of the previous Worlds as you are already excluded from entering this. Not by means of the Europeans which has only been held twice in the last 25 years ,the last time being 3 years ago. Europeans are unlikely to travel to South America in the hope of qualifying for some future championship. And even in the event of a wildcard place, the short period of time between the cut-off deadline in June and the championships provide insufficient time to make the neccessary travel arrangements.
So appartently there is currently no opportunity for sailors outside of North/south America , holland and Italy to sail at the Worlds. In which case if the Class is serious about promoting itself globally then maybe it should rethink its qualification process for major championships or change the word "worlds " !!!!!
 
I actually agree with this. It seems foolish to have the current requirements, especially when you consider the difficulty filling the regatta in recent year.
 
Actually... it looks like you can join the US Sunfish Class Association as a non-resident member. Once you do that, you have to do is attend a qualification regatta (and qualify). However, as you point out, the travel expenses to such an event could make it prohibitive.
 
limey said:
Europe consists of rather more than two countries !!! So appartently there is currently no opportunity for sailors outside of North/south America , holland and Italy to sail at the Worlds.
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Dear "Limey,"

Actually, the opportunity is there and has been seized upon regularly. If you want to go to this year's World Championship, you would need to establish a "'Your Country' Sunfish Class Association," notify the Class Office of its formation and pay dues for five members (and hopefully have 5 people you can list as people who have a vague interest in something having to do with the Sunfish) by May 1 (non-US dues are very low), write some By-laws and submit them to the Class Office, hopefully have a President, Secretary and Treasurer (not required but helpful), notify the Class Office that your country's National Sunfish Class Association has an individual who would like to compete in the championship, and then complete the entry process within the deadlines. The first year is the easy one. The following year the "new" NSCA would be expected to have 20 registered members (read: pay more dues). To date there has been no enforcement that those 5 or 20 "registered members" actually have names, addresses, phone numbers or the ability to fog a mirror. The intent is there. Some countries can only provide contact information for partial listings on those dues paid. Am I proud of this? No!! It's a weakness in our organizational structure. Each country's association is responsible for maintaining its membership roll, it sail number assignment, and submitting the International portion of its dues by May 1 each year to maintain its eligibility for sending sailors to the World Championship. The reason it was set up this way is to facilitate sailors like you having the ability to set up a NSCA, get things going, and eventually lead to a fully functioning Class association in more countries. It is working in the Pan American area. It takes time and dedication.

If you want to go to the 2008 World Championship, visit the ISCA home page, read the ISCA Constitution and the International Class Notice which is part of the regatta schedule. Those two documents make up the official way berths are assigned for the Championship. You can find templates for By-laws. You may want to check with your country's sailing federation as they may want to lend a hand. Have at it! We'd LOVE to have you come join in the fun and help "Laser Performance" recognize the Sunfish is a super platform and one worth perpetuating!
 
derekcjackson said:
I actually agree with this. It seems foolish to have the current requirements, especially when you consider the difficulty filling the regatta in recent year.
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Actually, all the requirements are in place with the intention of inspiring more sailors to sail off for the right to sail at the World Championship. The fleet is being reduced to make it more difficult to get in. This is a good move. With the addition of the Junior International Championship this year, we are starting a period of planned growth that will expose more and younger sailors to the Class and start on the work it takes to continue growth and improvement. :cool:
 
derekcjackson said:
Actually... it looks like you can join the US Sunfish Class Association as a non-resident member. Once you do that, you have to do is attend a qualification regatta (and qualify). However, as you point out, the travel expenses to such an event could make it prohibitive.
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You don't have to own a Sunfish to establish an NSCA nor join USSCA.

You can join USSCA and try for one of their berths as a wild card.

The easiest way for someone from a country that has not been a member of the Class before, however, is to establish the association, pay for the 5 members, and register for the regatta.

The Class, of course, truly hopes that you'll have such a wonderful time and enjoy the boat so much that you'll contact "Laser Performance" make arrangements for a batch of boats to be brought to your country and sold, and even perhaps host the Europeans and help spread this great Class to more unexposed sailors!!

I'll be eagerly watching.
 
Gail, i think you are missing the point of my post. I appreciate that there are loopholes in the present system but if the class is serious about truly promoting a global entry then it should not be encouraging exploiting these loopholes but more positively amending the existing rules to encourage participants from outside the US.

If a country already has 5 to 20 boats then in all likelyhood it will form a class association , but to suggest the creation of an association with fictional members as an entry certificate to the worlds is a nonsense

As for the offer of a wild card place ; it is quite impractical to expect overseas sailors to put their whole year on hold in the hope they can secure a wild card and then make all the necessary plans of travel, accomodation etc in less than 8 weeks.

Sadly if the class cant see the importance of a truly cosmopolitan entry then i think it stands little chance of success in Europe
 
limey said:
If a country already has 5 to 20 boats then in all likelyhood it will form a class association , but to suggest the creation of an association with fictional members as an entry certificate to the worlds is a nonsense

Dear "Limey," I fully agree with your concept. Keep in mind, however, the Sunfish Class does not require boat ownership. Individuals register for the Class, not boats. It makes it a very different organization than most sailors are accustomed to. I've been campaigning for over 25 years to have the "fictional" members have to be living, breathing, with viable addresses and it has gone no where. We'd have to have more folks like you to lead the charge!

As for the offer of a wild card place ; it is quite impractical to expect overseas sailors to put their whole year on hold in the hope they can secure a wild card and then make all the necessary plans of travel, accomodation etc in less than 8 weeks.

I fully understand your plight. I also have been trying for that same time period to require the people who get automatic berths to have to preregister far enough in advance that the number of available berths can be clarified so folks like you can make arrangements and attend. Of course for that to happen would mean the leaders would have to vote to require that they make binding down payments way ahead of time and the likeliness of that happening is small.

Sadly if the class cant see the importance of a truly cosmopolitan entry then i think it stands little chance of success in Europe
Keep in mind, ISCA had no warning this sale was coming. It was reactive mode at its last Board meeting. The organization is in the midst of rebuilding; there is a possibility of restructuring but I cannot say I have heard anything to that effect yet. It would be best for the leadership to find ways to make participation easier to manage, for sure. Other Classes do it, we can too!
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I hope this works. I added a bunch in color.
 
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