SKUD 18 News from IFDS

In recent IFDS Bulletins, the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) has announced:

• Sailors classified FCS2 are now eligible to helm the SKUD 18 in IFDS and Paralympic competition
• The revised US Sailing submission on SKUD 18 Crew Roles has been adopted – until the November 2009 AGM at least
• The Notice of Race has been posted for the 2009 IFDS Worlds in Athens this October

IFDS Functional Classification System & Procedures Manual 2009 (FCS 2009)

The IFDS has now published the IFDS Functional Classification System & Procedures Manual 2009-2012 (FCS2009) which came into effect on the 1 January 2009.  The FCS 2009 has largely been rewritten to accommodate both the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) requirements.

Changes are summarized as follows:
A. Procedures concerning Protests and Appeals have been clarified.
B. Although all sailors must report to a Classification Panel before their first race in the new Quadrennium, the procedure will be quick and simple for sailors who already know their Class and Status. New expressions have replaced old - previous T, PRS, and PPS status are now respectively N (New) R (Review) and C (Confirmed) to align with the IPC Code.
C. Although there are no major changes affecting Classification points, the system now includes specific wording to enable broader inclusion of persons presenting dwarfism who may not have been eligible to compete according to the previous system. Discussions are ongoing concerning other disabilities not yet included.
D. Also, SKUD18 teams continue to include at least one female, but one of the sailors may be 1 point or 2 points, the other must have at least minimal disability.
E. The IFDS Classification Administration Fee has been increased to 50 Euros.

US Sailing revised submission regarding SKUD18 Crew Functions

Following the recirculation of 2008 IFDS AGM Submission 06-08 to RNA's, the IFDS Executive Committee agreed that IFDS would adopt the amendment for the time being and that further comments and suggestions would be sought for the 2009 Annual General Meeting.

In essence, the submission from US Sailing makes the following changes to the IFDS Functional Classification System:

A. To add new Section 2.3 to state: TPA must be an active part of sailing the boat, ie.

helming the boat or trimming the sails.

B. To add new Section 6 to state: Each SKUD team must declare a specified

helmsperson and a specified trimmer. Once declared, that sailor shall function

solely in that capacity while racing.

C. To add new Section 6.1 to state: The trimmer shall not helm the boat except in an

emergency situation such as preventing a major collision or bodily harm, and then

only for a brief period of time.

D. To add new Section 6.2 to state: The helm shall not control or adjust any sheets,

the spinnaker halyard or the spinnaker retrieval line. For the duration of a race or

regatta, the helm shall be permitted to adjust/handle only one sail control line,ie. the

vang, outhaul, downhaul or jib halyard which may be led to their seating area.

2009 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship, Athens, Greece

The Notice of Race for the 2009 IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championship, 11-18 October 2009, Marina Delta Falirou, Greece has been published and can be found on the event website - www.disabledworlds09.gr.  All queries about the event should be directed to the Hellenic Sailing Federation (Email: info@disabledworlds09.gr)

Other Links
	IFDS Functional Classification System
	IFDS 2009 Worlds Website