World Sailing: One hears the WS Board have shot down President Andersen's (DEN) push for an Extr

SAN FRANCISCO (#1247) — Headline pretty well says it all. At the 2019 World Sailing Annual General Meeting in Bermuda last November, President Kim Andersen's (DEN) pet project — a Governance Proposal that would emasculate the Council and Member National Authorities, and effectively centralize power in a small, top-down Board of Directors — was soundly defeated. It was a huge loss of face for the increasingly unpopular President.

Shortly after the vote Mr Andersen announced that he would call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the MNAs this April to force a re-vote of his widely-criticized proposal, in what is already a busy 2020 with an Olympic Games, and officer elections this November. Moreover, the organization is all but broke, having (by their own admission, and after we broke the news here on Sailing Illustrated two years ago) had to borrow money just to get through the current quadrennium.

An EGM would have been hugely divisive to say nothing of expensive.

As we have been reporting on recent TFE LIVEs, groups of Member National Authorities — notably South America, the Caribbean and Southern Europe — have strongly objected in writing to such a meeting. So "Bravo Zulu" to the WS Board for blocking Mr Andersen's hilariously inept call for an April EGM, not that it was a particularly difficult decision to take.

One can only hope this puts an end to Mr Andersen's Governance Proposal at least for the balance of 2020, after when a new leadership team can consider whether or not to resurrect it after further, calm consideration in consultation via their Member National Authorities and International Class Associations — meaning sailors everywhere.

More on today's TFE LIVE, as always at 1300 Pacific / 2100 UTC on our Sailing Illustrated Facebook page.