2010 REVIEW 2011 PREVIEW - International Dragon Association

This year the IDA celebratesits 50th anniversary. Foundedin 1961, at a Gold Cup on theClyde, the inaugural meetingwas held in a pub and attendedby our current President, KingConstantine of Greece. Hereminded us of this when hespoke to the IDA last Octoberat a dinner celebrating 50 yearssince he won his Olympic GoldMedal in Dragons, aged 21, inItaly in 1960.The Dragon Class has, at last,agreed a cohesive BrandingIdentity to be used for all applicationsand right across theworld. This will create betterawareness of who we are and,over time, will definitely helpto further strengthen our internationalfranchise. We needenthusiastic participation by allNational Associations. A full reportis in this magazine, pages28 & 29, and the guidelines forimplementation are covered inClass Regulations (Part IV) availableon our website.The rules for the World andEuropean Championships havebeen amended. As I reportedlast year, these were needed toclarify entry qualifications andto avoid over-subscription tothese prestigious events. Fulldetail is available on the website.2010 has been another successfulyear for the Class. Championshipevents were held onLake Balaton (Europeans, Hungary)and at Marstrand (GoldCup, Sweden). Balaton wasparticularly successful, beingthe first time the IDA has helda Championship in Hungary. Iam also pleased that the IDAFinancial Accounts recoveredfrom last year, showing a smallbut satisfactory surplus. During2010, South Korea joined theChairman’sReportClass, our 30th National Association– we welcome them asa further step for our Class inthe eastern hemisphere. Withincreasing worldwide penetration,we have decided to offeran article each year in this magazineconcentrating on one NationalAssociation and are startingthis year with Hungary, seepage 18 & 19. I hope you enjoyit and it might even encourageyou to attend a regatta there!Technically we have hadanother quiet year and I wouldlike to thank Mike Hayles (Chairman,Technical Committee) andMarcel Wagenaar (Chief Measurer)for their contributions.Mike is retiring this year andPhilip Dohse will become thenew Chairman.Robert Alpe has retired asVice Chairman and has beenRobCampbellreplaced by Reemt Reemtsma from Germany. An article in thismagazine will give you some personal background on Reemt andyour Officers are pleased to again have a representative from Germany,our single largest fleet by far. Phyllis Chang has completed2 years as Vice Chairman and has agreed to stand for a further 2years. David Dale and Jill Hayward have again done sterling workto support us and, on your behalf, I thank them.By the time you read this, we will already have completed the2011 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. In Australia,the Class is growing strongly. The Worlds, with around 75 boats,was by far the biggest Dragon fleet ever gathered in the SouthernHemisphere. Our thanks go to Andrew Merrett and his team atthe Royal Brighton Yacht Club for such an amazing achievement.The rest of the 2011 circuit will, I am sure, have plenty for everyone.The calendar is very full of events for all Dragon sailors at whateverlevel they choose to race. This will be my last annual message asChairman, and I would like to finish this report by emphasising thatthe backbone of our class remains the local club racing and theenthusiastic amateur participation. I believe the class should keepthis point very clearly at the forefront of its considerations.Rob CampbellPage 3