by Deb Whitehorse | Apr 25, 2022 | 2022, Home Page
Photo: Catherine E. Firmbach
In a few days, you will be receiving an electronic ballot via email from the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association. We have sent an email to confirm that your email address is correct. If you did receive the email, there’s no need to reply. If you have not received the email from the IDNIYRA, please check your spam folder. If it’s not in the spam folder, please email to secretary.idniyra@gmail.com to let us know.
In the coming days, please watch your inbox for the invitation to vote email so that you can vote. The ballot offers candidates for five positions: Jody Kjoller for Commodore, David Frost for Vice Commodore, Robert Cummins for Past Commodore, and Deb Whitehorse for Secretary and Treasurer. Jeff Kent is up for a six year term on the Technical Committee*. A simple majority is required for election and write-in candidates are allowed. As allowed by the IDNIYRA Constitution, the same candidate is offering for the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. The Governing Committee has found this practice to be quite effective for the management of IDNIYRA.
*UPDATE:
From the Established Procedure of Iceboat Competition (EPIC) Agreement
Article VI – TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
The DN Class Technical Committee (TC) shall consist of six members, three elected from North America and three elected from Europe. TC members shall be elected according to the respective Continental Governing Documents (CGD). One member will be elected every year, alternating between continents. North American members will be elected in even years and European members in odd years. The term of office is six years. Term of office will begin July 1, and expire June 30 of the appropriate year. Each year the TC shall elect from its membership a chairperson to serve until June 30 of the following year. All decisions of the TC require 2/3 majority vote of all members. Upon resignation prior to six years, a replacement member will be elected by the respective CGG to complete the unexpired term.
by Deb Whitehorse | Oct 21, 2021 | 2022, Home Page
NOTE: The 2 proposals that were approved come into effect 31 May 2022!
The Autumn 2021IDNIYRA and IDNIYRA EU combined ballot closed at 1200 US CT October 21, 2021. Two-thirds of ‘yes’ votes are required for a question to pass. The results are as follows:
61% percent of eligible members participated in the ballot. Abstentions were allowed on individual questions.
Question 1: PROPOSAL TO CHANGE SPECIFICATION G14 SAIL WINDOW SIZE 160 yes / 8 against (95.2% yes, Question 1 passes and comes into effect May 31, 2022.)
Question 2: PROPOSAL TO ADD SPECIFICATION I. FITTINGS SELF-RELEASING STEERING POST HEAD 65 yes / 82 against (55.8% no, Question 2 fails.)
Question 3: PROPOSAL TO CHANGE SPECIFICATION A30 NATIONAL LETTERS AND SAIL NUMBER 110 yes / 50 against (68.8% yes, Question 3 passes and comes into effect May 31, 2022)
VOTE BY CONTINENT
| 1. G14 SAIL WINDOW SIZE |
| Votes tallied: 168 | | | | | |
| Abstentions: 4 | NA | EU | Total | | |
| Yes – I approve the amendment | 107 | 53 | 160 | | |
| No – I reject the amendment | 6 | 2 | 8 | | |
| 113 | 55 | | | |
| | | | | |
| 2. I. FITTINGS SELF-RELEASING STEERING POST HEAD |
| Votes tallied: 147 | | | | | |
| Abstentions: 25 | NA | EU | Total | | |
| Yes – I approve the amendments | 37 | 28 | 65 | | |
| No – I reject the amendments | 63 | 19 | 82 | | |
| 100 | 47 | | | |
| | | | | |
| 3. A30 NATIONAL LETTERS AND SAIL NUMBER |
| Votes tallied: 160 | | | | | |
| Abstentions: 12 | NA | EU | Total | | |
| Yes – I approve the amendments | 79 | 31 | 110 | | |
| No – I reject the amendments | 26 | 24 | 50 | | |
| 105 | 55 | | | |
The members support to the governance of the DN Class is appreciated.
Attila Pataky (M-100) Commodore IDNIYRA EU
Jody Kjoller (US 5435) Commodore IDNIYRA
by Deb Whitehorse | Oct 4, 2021 | Home Page
John Atkins sets the starting line. Photo: Catherine Firmbach
This is the announcement of a combined ballot for members of IDNIYRA and IDNIYRA EU, although North American and European results will be available separately.
North American IDNIYRA members were sent a test email this morning (4 October) to check email addresses. If you did not receive the test email, please check your spam folder. If you didn’t receive the test email, please contact secretary.idniyra@gmail.com.
At their Spring 2020 meeting, the IDNIYRA EU National Secretaries supported sending six measures to a ballot of the members. [See September 2020 Runner Tracks.] Three of the six were voted upon in November 2020. Further work was required on the other proposed changes to the Official Specifications, and two of them have been reviewed by the Technical Committee and submitted for the fall 2021 ballot. The third proposal was submitted by Chad Atkins US4487. [See December 2020 Runner Tracks.]
The three proposals to change the Specifications are:
1. Changing G.14 Sail Window size.
Current:
G14. A window in the sail is required. The window may be any shape and placed in several sections.
English Metric
Area (sq. in. and sq. cm.)
Max Min Max Min
1000 100 6452 645
Change to:
G14. A window in the sail is required. The window may be any shape and placed in several sections.
English Metric
Area (sq. in. and sq. cm.)
Max Min Max Min
1250 100 8064.5 645
Reasoning:
“A 25% increase in maximum window size would give the opportunity to greatly reduce blind-spots between the mast and in front of the sail window without sacrificing the running window. With increased forward visibility when the rig is bent out and the sail is set low on the mast, our sport would be significantly safer.”
2. Adding I. Fittings Steering-Post Head Break-Away Requirement
Current:
None
Add:
I. Fittings: The steering post head shall incorporate a safety feature to release the tiller forward upon impact to the skipper’s body.
Reasoning:
“One of the most dangerous situations in case of an accident is when the skipper falls on the tiller. Even with helmets it can poke or puncture many parts of the head or upper body during a crash or a sudden stop. Unfortunately, there have been accidents in the last few seasons in which the lack of this feature proved to cause several horrific injuries that could have been easily avoided. The forward-open steering post-head is a widely used solution in the DN class but currently only on a voluntary basis. A “safety slot” or other mandatory solution that would allow the tiller to fall out on a harder strike or impact has proven to save skippers from these kinds of injuries and would make our sport significantly safer.”
3. Changing A30 National Letter and Sail Number
Current:
A30. National letter and sail number shall be affixed to each side of the fuselage below the mast stepping point. Color shall contrast with the fuselage and each letter and number shall be a minimum of 5.5 inches (140 mm) high and 0.7874 inches (20 mm) wide
Change to:
A30. National letter and sail number is optional and may be affixed to each side of the fuselage below the mast stepping point. If a national sail letter and sail number are affixed to the fuselage, the color shall contrast with the fuselage and the recommended size of each letter and number is 5.5 inches (140 mm) high and 0.79 inches (20 mm) wide. National letters and sail numbers affixed to the fuselage should match those on the sails, except for boats loaned or chartered for a regatta.
Reasoning:
“Scorers and Race Committee personnel do not use these hull identification graphics very often for lap management, scoring or collision assessment as originally intended. Also as we saw at the 2019 G C Rule A30 currently makes lending equipment to sailors more difficult with possible SI amendments needed from the OA. The proposed number sizing is ‘recommended’ so that variances in size of optional numbers would not be subject to protest.”
Members of IDNIYRA and IDNIYRA EU who were in good standing as of 1 September 2021 are eligible to vote and can expect to receive an electronic ballot invitation at their email address on file with IDNIYRA or IDNIYRA EU. The ballot will be open from 1200 Central time, 7 October 2021 to 1200 Central time, 21 October 2021. To pass, a proposal must receive at least 2/3rds yes votes. Any measures passed will come into effect on 31 May 2022.
Note to voters: All election notices are sent from invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com To help avoid rejection of the notice as junk mail add invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com to your contact list.
by Deb Whitehorse | May 29, 2021 | 2021, Home Page
Forty-six percent of 209 eligible voters participated in the IDNIYRA 2021 Spring Ballot for Officers. This response rate is consistent with the 2019 and 2020 Spring ballots which had 44% participation.
The results for election of Officers were as follows, with all proposals being approved by simple majority:
- Commodore, Jody Kjoller (US 5435): 95 votes for, 1 against and 1 abstention
- Vice Commodore, David Frost (US 5358): 94 votes for and 3 abstentions
- Past Commodore, Robert Cummins (US 3433): 93 votes for, 1 against and 2 write-ins (John Harper and Kent Baker)
- Secretary, Deb Whitehorse (US 2366): 96 for and 1 abstention
- Treasurer, Deb Whitehorse (US 2366): 97 votes for.
The results for modifications to the IDNIYRA Constitution were as follows, with both proposals being approved with the required 2/3rds ‘yes’ vote:
- Amendment of Article XI to include explicit processes for member proposals for amendments to the Official Specifications: 86 votes for, 3 against and 9 abstentions
- Amendment of Article VII to reduce the lead time required for submission of proposals for the Annual Meeting: 87 votes for, 2 against and 8 abstentions.
The elected Officers assume their new responsibilities and the amendments to the Constitution take effect 1 July, 2021.
I would like to thank those members who participated in the ballot for their interest in the governance of the DN Class.
Warren Nethercote, KC 3786
Commodore IDNIYRA (for just a little while longer!)
by Deb Whitehorse | May 12, 2021 | 2021, Home Page
2021 U.S. Nationals at Black Lake in Michigan. Photo: Gretchen Dorian
2021 IDNIYRA Spring Ballot
At noon (Atlantic time), Saturday 15 May the Spring ballot for election of IDNIYRA Officers will go live. Eligible voters will receive an email invitation to the ballot, which will remain open until noon (Atlantic time), Saturday 29 May.
The ballot offers candidates for five positions: Jody Kjoller for Commodore, David Frost for Vice Commodore, Robert Cummins for Past Commodore, and Deb Whitehorse for Secretary and Treasurer. A simple majority is required for election and write-in candidates are allowed. As allowed by the IDNIYRA Constitution, the same candidate is offering for the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. The Governing Committee has found this practice to be quite effective for the management of IDNIYRA.
The ballot also includes two proposals for amendments to the IDNIYRA Constitution published in the December 2020 Runner Tracks. The first proposal clarifies the process to propose changes to the official specifications and protects the right of members to do so. The ballot modifies the published proposal slightly as will be explained in the rationale portion of the question. The second proposal reduces the lead time for submission of proposals to the Annual meeting from 90 to 60 days in recognition of our use of modern communications methods. A two thirds ‘yes’ vote is required to approve these measures. The Governing Committee recommends the approval of both.
Warren Nethercote KC 3786
Commodore IDNIYRA
