The European branch of the Laser class recently issued today a recommendation to vote No to a Laser class rule change put forward by the international Laser class ILCA.
The move by ILCA came at the very last minute. It came just after LaserPerformance and the Laser class ILCA announced on June 30 they had reached a trademark agreement – a development many observers thought was a greatly positive step towards a resolution of the crisis.
Last April, the international Laser class had announced it had completed the name change for the boat, but retracted itself afterwards and then stated it would seek a membership vote for such name change.
The timing of the class rule vote is dictated by a deadline set by World Sailing for an Olympic contract to be signed with the Laser class by August 1st.
For this vote to be successful, the Laser class rules requires a two third – 66% – majority. According to its own numbers, some 61% of the Laser class members reside in Europe.
With the European Laser associations currently mobilizing for a no vote, it’s a tall order for ILCA to get its rule change approved, given the geographical distribution of the class membership.
Read on for more details.
