I would like to start off by thanking Fredo for giving me the opportunity to take over the Chairmanship of the RG65 ICA.
Back in 2014 Fredo stepped forward to run the RG65 ICA and I am sure that you will all join me in thanking Fredo for his time and effort while in charge. During his tenure Fredo has faced many challenges and he has always approached things to the best of his ability and we wish him well for the future. I am sure that we will still see him active in the class.
It is my opinion that the RG65 Class has a great opportunity to grow into something that serves the social sailor as well as those that want to become an international champion, while retaining its independence and Corinthian ethos of fair and unregulated participation, but to do so we need seize the opportunity and structure the class properly before something else takes our space.
The small size, high performance, low(er) cost, simple Rules and friendly nature of our Class makes it very attractive to everyone, and we must not lose these properties as we evolve it.
I feel that I am able start to bring about the changes necessary to set our Class on a track that will allow it to grow and establish itself, not only in the Nations where it is currently active but in many more, not only on the level it is now but expanding further into the social sailing end of the spectrum but also to the top end where it will be attractive to the World Class sailors from other fleets, and in so doing get all those people who have a boat stuck away in their house gathering dust to get it back onto the water.
The first things that needs doing are that the International Class Association (ICA) needs to become more defined, active and transparent. So how do we do this?
- We need to Define the ICA and this means setting down some rules on how the ICA will be managed and run. I intend to establish a “Working Party” of 5 or 6 people that represent all the Nations to work with me to create a set of rules by which the ICA should operate. Many of you will know that these rules may take the form of a Constitution, but how that Constitution will look will, and must, be agreed by all stakeholders
- The ICA needs to become Active with our promotion and communication to all RG65 stakeholders. This will include regular website updates as well as communication with the National Associations
- Transparency is for me very important. The class does not belong to me, the ICA or anyone else and so the ICA needs to become totally open about it’s vision and steps it will go through to achieve its goals. I therefore intent to make it very public exactly what we are doing.
- Start looking at the Class Rules to bring them up to date and clear up some inconsistencies. How far we go with this task will be up to you, the Stakeholders.
I expect that that it will take a few months to achieve these first steps done, or at least progressed sufficiently to allow them to be voted on by all of the RG65 Stakeholders.
I hope that you all trust that I will do the best I can for the Class, and that you will all join and support me to make this happen.
Sincerely
Wayne Stobbs