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Report from John Williams:
Hi Folks –
Tonight I’m relieved and hopeful. The Multihull Council had a very good two-and-a-half hour teleconference to discuss recent US SAILING and ISAF decisions regarding an Olympic multihull event. We had 20 people on the call representing multihull organizations from every corner of the country – from the Florida Keys to Rhode Island, from Georgia to Michigan to Oregon and down to San Diego. We had a good and diverse group of men and women. I know there were at least 20 others that would have liked to have been on the call as well, but scheduling a national-level call always leaves some portion of the interested parties with a conflict.
We covered a lot of ground – I was impressed that the group didn’t waste a lot of time on history except when it was relevant and placed current events in context. Rick White offered some invaluable insight to the early struggle to move a catamaran into the Olympic arena, and Gordon Isco provided a first-hand account of the contrast between the first days of the Council and our current position. Dan Mangus brought the insight from his 20+ years and three terms on the Board of Directors in explaining the political structure of the organization. Bob Merrick and John Lovell provided the perspective of successful Olympic campaigns and the unique challenges elite athletes face, especially in dealing with the national organization and working within ISAF. The Tornado, Nacra, Hobie, F18 and A-cat classes were all represented, as were several open fleets, sailing clubs and organizers.
A quick summary in advance of the meeting minutes to be posted on the Council website later;
1. Some run-of-the-mill MHC business was quickly dispatched, which included mid-term appointments of Area Reps to fill vacant seats.
2. A summary of the US and international strategies and decisions that led to the current state of affairs was presented and discussed by those with direct contact – this was done so that everyone had a good understanding of where matters stand.
3. The group came to the conclusion that, for the betterment of multihull sailing nationally and over the long term, having a multihull in the Olympics should remain a priority.
4. After some discussion of how some fleets across the US function administratively, it was generally agreed that working for change from within US SAILING would be most likely to accomplish the goal of having a multihull in the Olympics.
5. A summary of the MHC’s standing within US SAILING and the political structure of the organization was presented – this was done so that everyone had a general understanding of what can be done.
6. The group preliminarily agreed upon a short five- or six-point strategy for moving forward, both to address the possibility that the recent ISAF vote will be recalled or a run-off conducted, and (failing a reversal of the 2012 decision) to develop a three-year plan to position the Council to see the multihull event returned to the 2016 Olympics.
7. Development of a national-level form of communication with multihull sailors was set as a near-term priority for quick dissemination of future updates.
Of course, more specific information is forthcoming upon a complete review of the meeting minutes by those on the call. In addition, a national call-to-action is already being met with new faces in key roles. The message that needs to be conveyed is that there are people who care about what has happened working to change things in our sport for the better.
More in the coming days – we are particularly keeping an eye out for news of the formation of a Australian Multihull Council that will be under discussion later this week by key members of the multihull community Down-Under.
Thanks –
John Williams
Chair, US Multihull Council
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