During the last World Championship in Porto Sherry, we organized 2 round tables, as announced. I also discussed this topic with many people in the boat park and at other locations. The purpose of the round tables was to have a dialogue about a future-oriented structure of the IFDCO.

The IFDCO is a foundation under Dutch law, established in 1960. There have been changes to the foundation rules in 1988 and 1997. The bye laws have been amended many times, the last time being in 2013. In recent years, we have changed as a class and therefor the current structure no longer suits to who we are now. Questions that were raised at the round tables and the discussions were: What do we think the IFDCO should be? What do we find important? What is missing in the current IFDCO?

The answers were broadly as follows:

• No one values the legal entity of the IFDCO. In other words: If the organization stands for what we consider important, then the form does not matter.
• The IFDCO must stand for International Flying Dutchman sailing, competitions at various locations and control over the development of the boat / class rules.
• Everyone endorses the necessity of organizational balance within the organization. Think here of the influence of countries, persons or regions within the IFDCO. What the right balance is and how to guarantee it was less prominent.
• The participation of the (international) sailors was also an important point. Here too, the ideas about how to organize this were diverse. There were voices to give every sailor direct voting rights, but there was also a group in favor of a more tiered democratic model. Everyone thought it was important that the sailors have a say on important points. Here too, the ideas about how to find a balance between governability and participation differ.
• The idea of ​​appointing more commodores so that more countries/regions can have a say at the administrative level was warmly welcomed.
• The idea of ​​abandoning the country division and working with a regional division also received a lot of approval. How that division should be has not been discussed in depth.
• The appointment of commodores must come from the country regions. Many do not see the point in the current restrictions on the term of office of a commodore. They think this is something for the countries/regions themselves.
• In line with the above, almost everyone is in favor of a limitation in the term of office of the President, Treasurer and General Secretary and in many cases also the rest of the board.

What next:

• As previously announced, we cordially invite national class organizations / groups of sailors to discuss this topic with us via a Teams meeting. Do you want to organize that? Let me know.
• We will discuss within the board how we are going to shape the transition. We are supported in this by a legal advisor. We will also consider how feedback from the sailors will be organized.

If you have any questions or want to organize a Teams meeting, email generalsecretary@IFDCO.net

Dear Flying Dutchman Sailors,

we have some great news: We now have a new General Committee with a clear and important role to fulfill.

In the previous period, it became apparent that we needed to elect several new members to the General Committee. Peter van Koppen stepped aside as President, and the terms of Meike Greten, as General Secretary, and Paul Hemker, as Vice President Technical, were coming to an end.

Over the past few months, the following candidates have come forward:

• President:
  • Meike Greten
  • Alberto Barenghi
• General Secretary:
  • Maarten Bausch
• Vice President Technical:
  • Kai Schäfers

Since then, the General Committee has held several meetings on this subject. There was some confusion regarding the Foundation Rules and the Bylaws. The Foundation Rules follow Dutch law, and they are the legally governing document for our organization.  One issue was that the Bylaws were not in alignment with the Foundation Rules, and the wording of the Bylaws made them difficult to interpret.

To clarify, we went to the Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands and obtained the latest official version of the Foundation Rules, which were approved by a Dutch notary and are therefore legally valid. The most recent version is from 1997.

Before explaining what the rules are, with respect to the Foundation Rules of 1997, we want to assure you that in the coming period, we will work on updating the Foundation Rules to ensure they are future-proof.

Summary of the Current Foundation Rules (1997) and the Consequences for the Election:

1. The IFDCO organization is a Dutch Foundation, meaning the rules must comply with Dutch law.
2. The Foundation Rules were originally written in Dutch and later translated into English. Therefore, in the event of a dispute, the Dutch wording and interpretation of Dutch law take precedence.
3. Article 14.3: The provisions of the Bylaws must not conflict with the Foundation Rules, nor with the law (even where the law does not include mandatory provisions).
4. Article 4, paragraph 3:
   • General Board members are appointed for a period of three years and can be re-elected for two subsequent terms.
   • After this, General Board members may be re-elected in special circumstances with a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the Executive Board, for a maximum period of three years.
   • The resignation schedule is set out in the Bylaws.
5. Article 4.3.1:
   • The duration of the appointment of Commodores by the General Committee is the same as in Article 4.3, provided they continue to meet the requirements set out in the Bylaws.
6. Article 4.5:
   • The Executive Committee elects from among its members a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Vice-Chairman.
7. Article 4.6:
   • One of the three positions, the President, the Secretary, or the Treasurer, must be of Dutch nationality and a resident of the Netherlands.

Impact on the Current Election:

• Meike has served three terms of three years and can only be re-elected if the General Committee classifies the current situation as a special circumstance, with two-thirds of the Executive Committee in favour. The General Committee has decided that this is a special situation.
• Alberto has already served five terms of three years and cannot be re-elected. The counter stops even if there is a break of several years.
• Paul Hemker cannot be re-elected (even if he wishes to).
• This rule does not apply to administrative roles (Measurer and Boat Registrar). After three terms of three years, the General Committee must approve every three years whether the individual can continue in this role, as an administrative role, for another term.
• The above interpretations have been validated by two independent Dutch judges, one of whom was involved in the amendment of the Foundation Rules in 1997.

Conclusion:

After reviewing all the rules above, the Executive Committee has decided the following for the upcoming period of three years:

1. The primary focus for the upcoming period will be changing the current Foundation Rules. The aim is to ensure the Foundation Rules are updated to reflect current needs and are future-proof.
2. Committee members for the next period:

Executive Committee:

• President: Meike Greten (GER)
• General Secretary: Maarten Bausch (NED)
• Treasurer: Roman Houdek (CZE)
• VP Technical: Kai Schäfers (GER)
• VP Championships: Hans-Peter Schwarz (GER)
• VP Communication: vacant
• VP Development: Juan Ignacio Egea Moreno (ESP

General Committee:

• Commodores of the countries
  • Australia / New Zealand: Mathew Moore
  • Germany: Tom Greten
  • Italy: Fulvio Colletti
  • Netherlands: Dennis van Iersel
  • USA: Gerhard Panuschka
• International Measurer: Tanja Heijink (NED)
• Boat Registrar: Rob Taal (NED)

In the coming period, we will gather input from the sailors on what they believe is important for the new Foundation Rules. With this information we will work on a proposal to make the IFDCO future proof. During the Worlds in Puerto Sherry on Saturday and Sunday when the boats are measured at the end of the day we will have a “round table meeting” hosted by Maarten. During this meeting we will explain where we come from, where we are and have open discussion to pick -up ideas for our path into the future. The exact time and location will be published. Countries / people who are not in Puerto Sherry at that time can invite Meike and Maarten for an online meeting with their (group of) members (not during the worlds). We then can discuss the same topics (and maybe more). Our goal is that at the 2026 Worlds we have a futureproof IFDCO.