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EXCO Meeting
The Optimist Sailing EXCO held a meeting at Mossel Bay this past weekend to discuss the 2017/2018 Youth Nationals and other class matters including the vital one below. Minutes of this meeting will be circulated shortly.
Selections Precedent
At the training camp prior to Selections, Matt Ashwell injured his leg and the Doctor pronounced him unfit to sail. His father approached the class for advice on the matter and requested that Matt be exempted from Selection and still attend Worlds.
The class consulted with Craig Leslie (Current Class Manager) and Hans Thisje (Ex Optimist President) and discovered there was no precedent for this case recorded. There was also nothing in our Constitution or Selections documentation that dealt with this situation. The feeling was that Matt would have to sit out this year and he was informed of this decision.
Matt then made the decision to sail despite his injured leg. Then a proposal was put forward then that should Matt get signatures from the entire Selections Squad that he would be exempt from the Selections regatta and could still attend Worlds. The EXCO voted on this and it was passed. The list of signatures was received and all sailors have accepted the proposal.
This is a precedent that the EXCO did not take lightly, however the decision was based on the fact that Matt was the current National Champion and the EXCO felt that excluding him through no fault of his own was unfair.
The EXCO will propose at the 2017/2018 Youth Nationals an amendment to the current Selections document which allows the EXCO to select a wild card for Worlds. This will allow the EXCO to deal with situations as happened with Matt or other cases where a potential sailor that should be attending cannot for whatever reason. The class members must please consider this proposal and vote accordingly. Please note only paid up members can vote.
Thank you to all the sailors that allowed Matt to go to Worlds. It is wonderful to see such sportsmanship.
Worlds and Africans Teams Announced
Congratulations to all the sailors that competed in Selections. Below are the Worlds and Africans teams. Forms and information regarding Worlds and Africans as well as the training schedule, clothing etc will be forward as soon as Shellee gets back home and has some time to sort it out.
Worlds Team – Thailand. 11 – 21 July 2017
More info on the event here
Africans Team – Egypt. 29 June – 6 July 2017
More info on the event here
Yours in Oppie sailing
André Wollheim
President – Optimist Sailing SA