WS’s Kim Anderson’s reply to Gerardo Seeliger’s brutal take-down letter of World Sucking, we mean Sailing…
Dear Gerardo
Thanks for your mail and the open talk we had before Christmas.
When you say we should be worried, – I can say that I am worried about the rumors. But Gerardo, they are just rumors! Instead of referencing rumors you should not pass on rumors without having some kind of assurance whether they are rumors or not. As you mention these rumors are circulated around the world and from media without any objectivity or proof. But the media world today seems that the more you write, it the more is becoming the truth.
So please check the rumors before passing them on. I can clearly state that these are vicious rumors passed around in the sailing community, but you need to stop them at the source.
The facts that I know are stated in my communication relating to the process, when it comes to transparency, everything has been published not only from the events in Sarasota but also from all the rumors and issues from the May meeting and the rumors created regarding issues between the meeting.
The same people supporting the rumors have been constantly supporting one specific class and that is not fair to anybody within our sport, the proof being that the rumors would cease if we would not have any changes in the Olympic equipment – that cannot be the values of World Sailing, being ruled by rumors.
As the honorary President of the Finn class it’s important that you know that the Finn class was not part of the event in question.
The event in question was the “Mixed one-person dinghy Event”, at the AGM three submissions where received against this event. One wanting to keep the slate of events at they are, but they were rejected as this was against the framework of gender equity and mixed events approved by a clear majority at the AGM in November 2017.
The other two submissions were both submissions with the same content seen at the midyear meeting, one wanting to change the four mixed classes to two and getting the Finn into one of the spots. The AGM clearly did not want to change the inclusion of mixed events and rejected this proposal. The last one was the submission proposing to change the “Mixed One-Person Dinghy Event” event to a “Double-handed Mixed Offshore” event.
You are questioning the new Offshore event, just to be clear double-handed Offshore Sailing is an existing discipline and is increasing in participation year by year. I am not sure how many Mixed One-Person Dinghy events we are having today? This probably is also why no proposal for equipment nor format was proposed to Council from any of the Committees during the week of meetings at the annual conference.
The rumors are constantly talking about commercial interests, but where is this coming from? If we track all the contacts and allegations, this whole issue is brought upon World Sailing only driven by pure commercial interests from the manufacturers, not in the interests of the sport. As you know all the chosen equipment for the Olympic events where processes according to the regulations in place being manufactured one design or one designs and the manufactured one designs were invented on “you shift”, not mine.
But I believe they are there for the right reason, selected for the benefit of the sport, according to a regulated process.
From now on I will have to dedicate time and efforts to work on what was agreed by a clear majority at the AGM starting in 2017 and being the outcome of the AGM in 2018, rumors cannot have a priority.
So Gerardo I can say that “ I am not influenced by personal, monetary and commercial interests of others”. You would know that I am doing this position in World Sailing on a complete volunteer basis and my values are still intact, but the game of using rumors and spam news is promoted by people within our sport against what was agreed with a clear majority in a process according to regulations, that’s a reason to be worried!
But rumors damaging the sport should be dealt with at the source not by mistrusting the elected Board and by trying to talk about transparency from people promoting rumors.
Dear Gerardo when you hear and read things please check the source and if in doubt don’t pass them on, for the benefit of the sport!
See you in Copenhagen, – and the dinner invitation from our last talk still stands.
Best regards
Kim Andersen
