MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE E&A ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE HELD ON 16 TH AND 17 TH MAY 2014 AT THE HOTEL ZUR POST, ISMANING, GERMANY

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1 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE E&A ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE HELD ON 16 TH AND 17 TH MAY 2014 AT THE HOTEL ZUR POST, ISMANING, GERMANY PRESENT Alain Amade Sid Adriaensen Dominique Lakens-Douwes Peter Frei Andy Harris Patrice Martin Marie-Anne Persoons Dany De Bakker Mike Waterman Florian Butty Varna Laco Gillian Hill APOLOGIES Depy Papadimitriou Candido Moz President Secretary General Treasurer Elected member Elected member and Barefoot Elected member Saturday only Cableski Disabled Racing Wakeboard Boat Wakeboard Cable Invited for minutes taking and as IWWF Secretary General Elected member Tournament Alain welcomed all to the meeting. Depy had booked to come to this meeting, but had been taken ill at the last moment. The AC members wished her a speedy recovery. Candido had ed also just a day or so ago to say he would not be able to attend. He would supply a report. 1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of 24 and 25 January 2014 The Minutes as circulated were approved as a true record. 2. BUREAU DECISIONS 2.1. Irregular Subscription fees The Bureau had reviewed the votes for Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg and Serbia. For specific reasons all will receive one vote less. Lithuania and Sudan will pay the minimum fee of 100 Euros for E&A plus the IWWF fee Medals To achieve a good price, we have to order the 2014 and 2015 medals. Thank you to Franz Kuhn to accept to be in charge of the medals. The issue of over ordering medals was discussed. It was realised that the major problem was for disabled and that a solution should be found for them. The rest of the councils would continue as they have before, and if in doubt as to the number of competitors, would order blank medals. The orders for 2014 should be finalised by the end of this weekend. Noted that Disabled and Tournament would share officials and organisers medals for the U21 and Disabled Championships this year. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 1

2 2.3. Boesch Boat Testing (Tournament) Kuno has advised Boesch have a new boat out which will need testing in Europe. The testing must be carried out by the E&A Tournament Council as defined in the Add Rules 26. Alain will liaise with the Boesch Boat company Mastercraft Partnership contract Wakeboard Boat A new boat provision contract was being negotiated between MasterCraft and the E&A Wakeboard boat Council. This would provide a good income for the council Badges The Bureau agreed the design this morning. Quality of the badge is nice and better than before. These will be handed out liberally to all officials, judges, drivers, etc.. All bureau decisions were accepted by the Admincom members. 3. REPORT AND ITEMS FROM THE PRESIDENT Alain attended the Tournament officials seminar in Milan which had moved from the Ukraine to Italy and with a changed date. This meant a smaller attendance than usual, approximately half. The TC has produced some excellent training videos for judges to train with. The next (20 th ) seminar will take place in Germany (where it all started). There are difficulties in Cableski with finding a venue for the 2014 World Championships and unfortunately correspondence between the IWWF President and the World Cableski Council has been very strained. The Cableski Division moving to a Who beat Who ranking list for 2014 and Alain believes this will have an important impact on their division. It will allow all countries to organise competitions, with four buoy courses, shorter trick passes, etc, none of which matter in the Who Beat Who system. IWWF is negotiating a potential deal with IMG (a huge sports marketing company) who are interested to assist our sport. As long as it does not cost us and can eventually be of benefit we are all in favour. 4. REPORT AND ITEMS FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL 4.1. Composition of the E&A Admincom and Councils Sid had circulated the lists which were all agreed. These will now be published on line Composition of the European Confederation (EC) Once again Sid had been working on the necessary changes to the Byelaws to cover the on paper division between Europe and Africa. E&A Bye-Law The EC will be run by a Board of Directors of maximum seven members. They will decide amongst themselves of their respective roles and positions as deemed in the best interest of the EC. The President and the Secretary General of E&A become automatically members of this Board of Directors, ensuring the interests of E&A within the EC. They will however not assume the title of President or Secretary General of the EC. The other members of this Board will be assigned as such by the Admincom, but their position has to be approved by the next E&A Congress with only the European federations having a say or a vote on this topic. The Board is entitled to seek outside assistance in case of special projects or procedures. The Admincom agrees that the sentence in red has to come out of this Bye-Law. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 2

3 Board of Directors of the European Confederation Alain Amade EC President Member IWWF EB for Europe Sid Adriaensen EC Secretary General Member IWWF EB for Europe Dominique Lakens Douwes EC Treasurer Peter Frei Member IWWF Vice President for Europe Depy Papadimitriou Member Andy Harris Member Patrice Martin Member 4.3. Composition of the African Confederation (AC) E&A Bye-Law The AC will be run by a Board of Directors of maximum seven members. They will decide amongst themselves of their respective roles and positions as deemed in the best interest of the AC. The President and the Secretary General of E&A are the two automatic members, ensuring the interests of E&A within the AC. They will however not assume the title of President or Secretary General of the AC. The other members of this Board will be assigned as such by the Admincom, but their position has to be approved by the next E&A Congress with only the African federations having a say or a vote on this topic. The Board is entitled to seek outside assistance in case of special projects or procedures. Board of Directors of the African Confederation Louis Polome AC Vice-President IWWF Vice President for Africa Jerome Bauser AC President Member IWWF EB for Africa Martin Schmidt AC Secr-Gen Member IWWF EB for Africa Alain Amade Member Sid Adriaensen Member 4.4. Composition of the E&A Commissions The list of Commissions was tabled: The Admincom questions those who have not replied to Sid and this will be checked up before the list is published News from the E&A office Sid advised that the printer which makes the officials cards has been broken, but these will soon be dealt with and sent out. There are some problems with the office website. Some features are obsolete. We are currently working on a new setup. 5. REPORT AND ITEMS FROM THE TREASURER 5.1. The Council Budgets The AC felt that quicker access was needed for the Councils. Agreed that a private system of Brit s excel sheets be allowed to view by each Council treasurer Outstanding Subscriptions and other debts to E&A Dominique was chasing the usual number of subscription late payments and debts. Those countries in default would not be allowed to compete in E&A or World Championships. The warnings about this had been and would be continued to be sent out. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 3

4 5.3. Subscription fee review. This debate had been going on for some time, and the feelings expressed at the last Congress and in subsequent mails had been taken note of. The goal is to raise the subscription fee a bit for the stronger federations and lower the fee for the weaker ones. The idea is to cut the link between the voting power and the subscription fee. The following points had been considered: What is the maximum fee that we can ask from any federation? = The maximum at this moment is (four votes at 625 each). = Say 3.000, which is a rise of 500. What is the total amount that E&A needs from subscription fee income? = Between and To be paid by how many federations? = E&A has now 37 full member federations. = We lost the Middle East! = We need more federations Proposal on how to split the subscription fee between the federations. 10 x = x = x = x = x 500 = = The most recent proposal therefore is to use the 2013 IMF economic weight of countries ranking, based on the GDP Nominal = Gross Domestic Product including the cost of living. Ranking by economic weight We use the 2013 IMF economic weight of countries ranking, based on the GDP Nominal = Gross Domestic Product including the cost of living. Group 1 = millions of USD or more. Group 2 = between and millions of USD Group 3 = between and millions of USD Group 4 = between and millions of USD Group 5 = less than millions of USD This way new federations know beforehand the level of their subscription fee. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 GER POL POR LUX LAT FRA NOR IRL CRO CYP GBR BEL CZE LTU GEO RUS AUT UKR SRB NAM ITA RSA HUN SUD ESP DEN SVK TUR ISR BLR NED EGY MON SUI FIN SWE GRE There was general agreement from the Admincom to head down this route. When we cut the link between the voting power and the subscription fee, then we can adjust the voting power for general business to reflect real activity. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 4

5 This can be achieved by giving as the voting power for general business one basic vote plus the sum of the voting power a federation has in all divisions together. As to the voting the majority are in favour of having more votes available to federations, the more active they are the more votes they get. This will not cost them money and just increase their activity level. The Admincom members hoped this new idea would appeal more to the Federations. They would ensure good consultation prior to any proposals at the next Congress Situation with the IWWF Contribution to the Cable Wakeboard Council - The funding from 2013 has been paid from IWWF to E&A 2,100 Euros directly for Cable Wakeboard activity. It was hoped further funding would come from IWWF for the same purpose following the agreement between Rixen and IWWF. The loan from E&A to IWWF is due for repayment by end of REPORT AND ITEMS FROM THE DIRECTLY ELECTED ADMINCOM MEMBERS 6.1. Depy Papadimitriou I am sorry I cannot be with you as anticipated, but I have an urgent medical problem. Here is my written report: The Hellenic Water ski Federation this year has to solve multiple problems. We have to increase the number of water ski clubs to ensure our existence and in dependability according to the new law of the ministry of sports. The financial crisis is the cause of the reducing of the active ski clubs in Greece. To secure the financing of the +35 European Championships we have to wait the elections for the Mayor and the Chairman of the regional council, which are held this coming weekend. And last but not least, due to the complete deny of financing from the ministry of sports, we have to solve in general the financing problem of our federation such as, the rent for our office, every day expenses, organization of our national championships e.t.c Fortunately, by the end of the year we will be able to increase the number of our active ski clubs, as we have established some motives to make them work to this direction. We announced that, no entry fee will be paid by the skiers to three water ski competitions, which, in order to minimize the transportation cost, will be held in three different regions of Greece. On top of the yearly athlete and club fees and the contribution paid by athletes and organizers of every international water ski tournament organized in Greece, we are also trying and succeeding to attract businessman and waterski fans to contribute financially our federation and solve our financing problems. After the 28th of May I will be able to inform you about the results of the elections which maybe will affect the organization of the +35 European Championships. Never the less, we have already approached businessman, factory owners and fans of our sport to secure the success of the organization. I am confident that, like last year, these Championships will be a fantastic tournament, and I want to ask you to advertise this tournament to your athletes and ask them to attend Andy Harris Andy said that as the custodian of the rolling 4 year plan, he had been reviewing our actions in relation to the plan. In fact he believed the only area we are not fulfilling our plan is in Environment but this was mostly handled at World level. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 5

6 Of course, we are also not strong on succession planning. Being completely voluntary and relying so much on the goodwill of individuals, we just have to find good people and use them as they come to our notice Peter Frei IT Management System Peter provided a written report on the IT management system, which was now starting to moved forward. The following group of people are now the project team for the development of the system: Project leader: Peter Frei Barefoot: Andy Harris Cableski: Martin Graw, Marie-Anne Persoons Cablewake: Varna Laco Disabled: Danny De Bakker, Paul Airey Tournament: Dimosthenis Alexopoulos, Hannu Rintanen Wakeboard Boat: Florian Butty, Franck Chocun Racing: no representative The contract proposals from Emmanuel Lion had limitations on possible World development, which was an issue, especially for Cable Wakeboard who had real need of a worldwide approach. Penalties for late implementation should apply. Peter will talk further with EL about this as the needs of the different sports are different. It was agreed to let the Bureau and Peter make a recommendation to the Admincom as to the go-ahead date. Investment in IT is not a budget item, it is a capital spend which we can amortise over a number of years. IWGA World Games Channel IWWF is a member of IWGA World Games Channel which offers the possibility of live streaming through their channel. IWWF has been using IWGA for their World Cup events. Alain Amade has asked Peter to inquire about possibilities and costs regarding live streaming of E&A titled events through the IWGA Channel. Conclusions Peter from discussion with Hagen Bossdorf, TV & Media Coordinator of IWGA: E&A can broadcast live streaming at no distribution costs on the IWGA Channel Production costs of live streaming is fully at E&A s expenses In principal IWGA requires the production based on a specific standard but in reality they have accepted productions based on any technology To be considered: Live streaming can be achieved by the simple mean of the installation of one webcam on the site. HOWEVER, the quality of such a broadcast is rather poor Using a multi-camera functionality requires the involvement of a professional team and causes higher costs Should sound (speaker) also be delivered -> may increase complexity and costs? Should live streaming become a MUST in the LOA of a titled event? NOT YET. Would the organizer of the titled event be fully responsible for the production? E&A Admincom s role and cost contribution? THIS IS UP TO THE ORGANISER. E&A CANNOT BEAR THE COSTS. Florian suggested we make a guideline for live streaming and where to put it IWWF You Tube page, IWGA, etc.. bandwidth, etc Peter agreed to handle this. The Admincom agreed that we should endeavour to make use of this IWGA Channel where possible. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 6

7 At the moment live streaming could not be mandatory for the organiser. Any TV productions made of events should be uploaded onto this site. Council websites are in some cases not up to date this must be done. Event websites, the organiser must provide someone to do this it is in the LAO. Including Facebook, etc. Again we should use IWWF you tube, facebook, etc Patrice Martin Patrice had recently returned from a holiday in Mauritius, where he made some good contacts to host a competition. The Mauritius Federation is a member of IWWF, and the people Patrice met really want to move forward. He felt strongly that If we (IWWF and E&A) want a global development then all Councils should be working to the same goals. Some items and decisions made by councils should really also be considered by the Admincom (EB in the case of IWWF). The byelaws explain Admincom/ EB powers are over the Councils. The Admincom/EB sets policies and the councils should work to those. Agreed to send the councils a reminder of their role and duties including the need for the Bureau to approve the Titled events panels before they are published. 7. REPORT AND ITEMS FROM EACH COUNCIL 7.1. Barefoot Andy said that in the Barefoot world it was difficult to find organisers for the World Championshiops. Part of this problem was the Sanction fee required for IWWF. Gill explained that the Sanction Fees were a vital part of the IWWF income. To try to negotiate the fees was impossible as once an exception was made there was no way back. Andy said Barefoot was lucky in that there were individuals willing to host the Worlds, but this would mean they would keep returning to the same sites, and not move around the world. The E&A Championships are all arranged and there were other international events on the calendar. There was a new revamped website for Barefoot being run by Evert Aartsen for a two year period. At world level, the format for the World Championships is under a drastic review Cableski Marie-Anne reported that a Council meeting was held in Tel Aviv in April, alongside a small officials seminar to include skiers, parents and officials. New and good progress with the Who Beat Who Ranking List which Emmanuel Lion has progressed. The aim is to make it easier for organisers to hold events which can count for the Ranking List. We hope that more competitions will be registered which will also increase our income. It will make our sport less technical and more cables will be able to host competitions. A major issue was the 2014 World Championships, due to be organised in the Netherlands and organised by Robin Senge from Germany. Robin advised that he had insufficient money to host the event. An attempt to reschedule in China has come to nothing as the Chinese Federation has stated it cannot sanction another event. The Council is now looking at other alternatives including returning to the original venue. They have financial support committed by some individuals, which may allow this. Marie-Anne was working on a letter to all possible hosting countries, which would be sent out this week. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 7

8 The good news is that the E&A Open Championships in 2015 have moved one week earlier to 4 th- 6 th September 2015 to avoid a clash with the Tournament World Championships Disabled Dany reported that the Council spring meeting and officials seminar was held alongside tournament in Milano in April. Five Euro Tour stops are scheduled but without a finals with prize money. A Certificate will be presented to the winner at the Congress instead. The E&A Championships with the Tournament U21 would be held in Recetto, Italy. She asked that the Bureau keep the councils informed if there are ever any problems with the signing of the obligations. There are now five categories within the MP group, but this is only for classification purposes and will not affect the medals, etc Racing Mike had provided a written report: The Region Europe & Africa Racing Division has again been busy in the close season. Following the Milan Congress in January 2014, the Council has finalised the rule book and calendar for Pleasingly the WARAC computer database and timing facility is fully operational in 2014 after a searching trial during the latter part of the 2013 season including its use at the 2013 Worlds in Tenerife. At an overall cost of 6000 Euros paid 50/50 by Racing and Region E & A over the whole development process, and now with the deal including several years of guaranteed free up dates and servicing this is a classic example of the sport helping itself to move forwards. Our Council was mostly re-elected in Milan, but we are delighted to welcome on board Jonas Hernandez Garcia from Tenerife (Spain), whose refreshing knowledge of IT and modern media is already proving a boon since he has already set up for us not only a brand new Racing website but also a regional Facebook facility. He has modernised our Logo and we look forward to his ongoing contribution to the discipline. He is the first of our new generation of Council members to help us face the future with enthusiasm and technical drive, but also with an eye to succession planning. We have lost Pepe Escoda from Barcelona who served the Council and the sport with distinction at all levels for a decade and we are most grateful to Pepe for his work for Water Ski Racing. At the IWWF level the Division is undertaking a full re-appraisal of the World Racing Rules. Due to the astronomic cost of arranging a meeting in between the 2 yearly Championships, it has been determined to do the review at arm s length, by , and to this end we incorporated a World Rules review session at our recent E & A Racing Council meeting in Vichy, which I believe proved beneficial. We have recommended some changes to our WRC Secretary General, Meryl Lee, which in turn Pan Am and Australia/NZ will now debate. Region E & A were also recently pleased to respond to Dusty Schulz, our World Chairman who some posed questions to our WRC regarding related issues discussed by the EB in Chile last November. On the competition front our European competitions are already under way, with the first Europe Cup stop completed at Stone Club, Essex, in GB on a rather bracing 27th April. This was a first time in Stone and we hope to revisit them soon. Nationals are under way in Belgium and GB as of May 5th. Our next Europe Cup venue is Ybbs, in Austria on the River Danube at the end of May, with 2 more in Belgium, first off at Viersel for the Diamond Race at the end of June with the final round being at Geel a week later. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 8

9 The pinnacle of our 2014 season will no doubt be our European Championships in mid July which are being held at two centres, Vichy and Eguzon in central France, both very popular venues. We are on the one hand, very much enthused that this major event is being staged in France with its great water ski heritage, but are equally concerned about the general lack of participation from France itself and other European nations such as Holland and Italy as we strive not only to maintain our competitor base but build on it and include more countries. There is something of a resurgence in Germany right now which is pleasing, but generally our teams are struggling with the ever increasing cost of participation in a discipline where of course each skier needs his or her own boat and crew. We now know that the 2015 Worlds will be held next April in Wellington, New Zealand, which will be very exciting but of course the venue brings its own raft of problems for teams to compete from Europe with both costs for boat transportation and individuals just to get there but also the time that any boats thus sent, will be away from mainland Europe -- a lengthy period just before our own season starts in May A conundrum! Where ever the World titles are staged it is hard for somebody. Tenerife was extremely tough on the Aussies but they came nonetheless in strength and prevailed. We will as a Region simply do our best to send/field as reasonable a team as possible and it is sure to be a great experience for those who make it with salt water sea courses, not that different from what we enjoy in Europe ( canals excepted). Following our Worlds in Tenerife in September 2013 there was a technical issue which resulted in the WRC applying a boat and athlete disqualification. This was overturned by the IWWF Appeals Committee, but I wish to raise a general point in this regard when I table my report in Ismaning. Taking an overview I am happy to report that we have an enthusiastic Council and a good group of dedicated officials in the Region all of whom continue to work long and hard for the good of the sport we all love Tournament Candido was unable to be present, but had submitted some requests to the Admincom. Belgium has withdrawn its bid for the 2015 Youth Championships and the 2016 Under- 21 Championships. The TC would need to write to all Federations asking for hosts for these two and any other outstanding competitions in 2015 and The Officials Seminar held in Milan with 64 present. It is difficult to keep good judges, and very important that we keep encouraging new judges too. There are some excellent judge training tapes. You cannot be a great judge if you don t train, and train all year. The TC had requested a 20 increase in all entry fees for 2014 and beyond to cover the officials travel. This was agreed by the Admincom, with the exception that no extra charges are made for the E&A Team Championships. Noted that in future entries must be submitted in time and paid for by 12 noon on the day before the competition, otherwise the skier will not appear on the start list Wakeboard Boat Florian reported they have co-opted Linda Johnston from IRL who is the new Secretary of the Council. Also they co-opted Franck Chocun from France. Patrice has approved this. Working on a judge training system, and Franck is responsible. There are some problems within the Council which Florian discussed in confidence. Alain would handle these issues. The Council minutes will be coming out finally, bringing all up to date. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 9

10 The calculation software is now being used all over the world and has been very well received. Florian has created guidelines for championships hosting, trying to help the organisers. The 2013 Rankings are finally nearly finished. They held a good seminar in Paris but with only 18 people attending. In future we will try to make sure that we have at least 30 people coming. The E&A Championships will be held in Portugal in October. A driving seminar is to be held with MasterCraft in Belgium. The Council are introducing an E&A Pro Tour Ticket to Ride format = have to compete in 3 tour stops in order to be allowed to go into the final cash prize event. Want to create the Youth Trophy young rider of the year sponsored by MasterCraft, and offering coaching sponsored by them as a prize. Florian was in the process of signing a five year contract with MasterCraft for boat rights for the E&A Wakeboard Championships. Part of the agreement was that an Event manager would be appointed by MasterCraft to deal with banners, publicity, etc. This would not interfere at all in the running of the tournament. The competition drivers would come from the E&A Driver list Wakeboard Cable Varna reported that the registration fee document needs updating with the new fees agreed by the Council and now with Admincom approval. 20 competitions are already signed up with the new fees. The council desperately needs to raise its income and this is a major step forward for them. One very important item is to get a new website up and running. They were discussing age categories which need to be the same worldwide. 8. IWWF Matters 8.1. Report from IWWF Representatives Peter is finding the information received as a member of the Bureau very interesting. There is a lot going on. Noted that so many major events are moving around the world and making it very expensive for the Europeans to participate. Andy asked what is going to happen when a sports division cannot find a venue for their World Championships. Again it was accepted that finding venues was extremely difficult, but not impossible. Sanction fees were not negotiable, but other items in the LAO were. Each council must do its best to find possible organisers with which to negotiate. Gill reported on the positive meeting that Kuno had in Argentina where he had put forward a proposal for Wakeboard Cable to be part of the 2016 Olympic Youth Games. On his very weekend he was also meeting in Japan to promote the inclusion of Wakeboard Cable in their Olympic Games. Gill further reported on the new application process initiated by the IOC in order to have the US$25,000 per annum. In the past the application process was minimal, but now it was going to be very time consuming Executive Board Meeting 2014 The EB meeting would be held in September in Janesville during the World Show Ski Tournament. The organisers had made a generous offer to provide the EB members with rooms and hospitality during their stay. It would also be very good to see a Show Ski Championships at the famous Rock Aqua Jays Club. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 10

11 8.3. E&A representation at the IWWF level The Europe Vice President Peter Frei The Africa Vice President Louise Polome The Europe Confederation President Alain Amade The Europe Confederation Secretary General Sid Adriaensen The Africa Confederation President Jerome Bauser The Africa Confederation Secretary General Martin Schmidt 8.4. The IWWF 70th Anniversary in 2016 Alain thought it would be a great idea to celebrate in 2016 in Juan Les Pins, France as that is where the first World Championships were held. However, there was some concern that not many people might travel for a one off event. Perhaps it would be better to wait for the 75th anniversary and try to combine with something else in IWWF Succession Planning Kuno had written to every Federation announcing his intention to stand down at the Congress in Milan in He had also asked Federations to consider if they wished to nominate anyone as the next President. Gill was not aware of any nominations at this stage. Of course it was noted from the last EB meeting that Alain had said he would consider standing, and Paul Fong had also said he could be interested as a Plan B candidate. Alain said he needed to have further talks with Patrice and the French Federation as he would not stand unless he had their moral support. 9. TITLED EVENTS CALENDAR 9.1. Calendars 2014, 2015 and 2016 There were some small changes to the calendars for 2014, 2015 and 2016, after which Sid would publish them. Patrice suggested that we consider running boat ski and boat wakeboard at one venue together. Also combining cable ski and cable wakeboard this would need 2 lakes to run at the same time. There were several members who agreed with this general idea Anti-Doping We have agreed that we must have drug testing as mandatory at the E&A Titled events. However, education is needed and Gill said she was working on something for the IWWF site which could also be used at National level. Fundamentally it is the responsibility of each Federation to educate their athletes about Anti-Doping. Marie-Anne said that in Australia, she as Chief Judge had read out a statement about Anti-Doping to all the Team Captains, and they in turn had passed this information on to their skiers. This was a good idea which we could adopt. Dany had the idea to take the responsibility of drug testing at E&A Championships under the wing of the Confederation, and to choose say 3 or 4 events a year to be tested. This would mean that E&A has to find the money, rather than the organisers. It was agreed we need to fund raise to see if this is possible. Andy has a client involved with all the large laboratories and he is going to try to find a sponsor for education and our testing programme. For the moment, however, we stay with mandatory testing for all events. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 11

12 9.3. List of Federations who are paid up members and allowed to compete in E&A Championships. Sid would prepare this list and circulate nearer to the Championships dates. And also updated as needed. 10. ADMIN / E&A BUREAU List of E&A Representatives The list of E&A representatives was compiled and would be circulated Council Representatives The list of Council representatives was compiled and would be circulated Statutes changes No changes proposed Byelaw changes See under item 4.2 the Bye-Law change to art As previously agreed at an earlier meeting, we needed to make an amendment to cover those athletes who had no Federation, but who wished to compete at E&A Titled Events. Sid proposed we add an Addendum to the Rules of Eligibility. Gill felt the IWWF and E&A Rules of Eligibility should be the same, however, it was accepted that the special addendum would apply only to E&A. The following wording was approved by the Admincom. Addendum to the Rules of Eligibility for E&A Titled Events Countries without a proper federation This addendum solves the issues of active competitors whose Federations are either non active or do not exist at all (non full member federations). A competitor from such country will be allowed to compete if he complies with the following : 1) He cannot compete for his country no team result. His results will not appear in any rankings list. 2) He has to pay a double entry fee this will entice him to form a federation in his country. This extra income will go 50 % to E&A central and 50 % to the Council concerned. The Entry Fee has to be paid directly to the E&A representative before the competitor starts. 3) The organizer has to make sure that the competitor, before his start, has an insurance for personal injury which the competitor might have to pay to the organizer Complete Review of the List of Obligations The following changes shown in red were agreed to the List of Obligations. Article III paragraph 2 For a bid withdrawn after the Agreement has been signed, but before the E&A Annual Congress of the year in which the event should be held, a penalty of EURO shall be levied on and payable by the withdrawing organising Federation. Article V2b) The Chief Judge or the E&A representative have the right to order any sign or device removed, if such a sign or device is a distraction or obstruction to contestants, judges or other officials appointed by E&A. Article VI f) second paragraph Income from entry fees shall be shared equally between E&A and the Organiser. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 12

13 The organising Federation shall pay the relevant share to the E&A representative, or to E&A within 30 days of the final day of the event. Late payment shall result in the loss of its voting rights to the next Congress for the relevant discipline. Article VII added as final paragraph The Organiser shall provide enough cash money to cover the distribution of travel grants to officials (if any). NOTE this is not a cost to organisers as the money to cover this is included in the E&A share of the entry fee. Article XI The Organiser shall be responsible for the cost and provision of the video cameras and recording system required for official use during the event. Immediately the cassettes or disks start to be used they become the property of the Confederation and under the control of the Chief Judge to whom they must be handed after use. A technical officer in charge of all the technical equipment must be nominated for the event. Article XII change to first 3 paragraphs: A Press Officer shall be appointed by the Organiser who shall be responsible for the proper accreditation of the working press and the issue of such passes as may be necessary for duly accredited journalists and photographers. He shall be responsible for the issue of prompt News Releases. Protected wireless internet access is required on site for official use only. Public internet access is also required. If live streaming is to take place this should be via an extra protected high speed wide band internet feed. Other facilities that may be deemed desirable should be provided in order full and adequate coverage of the event may be facilitated to obtain the maximum possible publicity, press and TV coverage for the tournament. All efforts should be made that EBU (European Broadcasting Union) news and highlights reports are produced through the E&A EBU responsible. The Organiser shall bear arising costs. Sponsors may be used to reduce costs. The Organiser shall not enter into any exclusive agreement with any media service without prior E&A approval. All rights belong to E&A. Article XIV two small changes Any Opening ceremony should be held on the first day of skiing. If there is a dinner where medals are presented, the only medals to be presented at the dinner, unless the weather shall have dictated otherwise, shall be the Men and Women Overall, the team medals and the medals to the officials and organisers. Article XVI change to paragraph 2 Such transport shall also be provided free of charge for Officials, the E&A representative and the Council representative. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 13

14 APPENDIX A : Entry Fees Division & Event Entry Fee Split to Split to Split to per skier E&A Organiser Council (***) Barefoot Open 180 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR 20 EUR Barefoot Juniors 140 EUR 60 EUR 60 EUR 20 EUR Barefoot Seniors 180 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR 20 EUR Cableski Open 160 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR --- Cableski Juniors 120 EUR 60 EUR 60 EUR --- Cableski Seniors 160 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR --- Disabled All 180 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR 20 EUR Tournament Team 250 EUR per team 100 % --- Tournament Open 180 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR 20 EUR Tournament Youth 140 EUR 60 EUR 60 EUR 20 EUR Tournament Under EUR 70 EUR 70 EUR 20 EUR Tournament Seniors 210 EUR 95 EUR 95 EUR 20 EUR Wakeboard/Skate Boat - Open 180 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR 20 EUR Wakeboard/Skate Boat - Juniors 140 EUR 60 EUR 60 EUR 20 EUR Wakeboard/Skate Cable - Open 180 EUR 80 EUR 80 EUR 20 EUR Wakeboard/Skate Cable - Juniors 140 EUR 60 EUR 60 EUR 20 EUR *** = As agreed at January 2014 Congress - to assist officials travel. Income is paid to the relevant Council. Appendix B - PROCEDURES FOR TESTING AT EUROPE & AFRICA CHAMPIONSHIPS Agreed to change the random draw for testing from the top 6 placed athletes in the specified events.. E&A DISABLED Championships A minimum of 5 tests 5 athletes chosen at random from all the competitors in all of the finals regardless of disability category. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 14

15 10.6. Guidelines update No changes at the moment. 11. COMMON TOPICS FOR ALL COUNCILS Each council to decide whether they want to work with an intention to enter form If so, to prepare the proper forms, dedicated to each specific Titled Event. To be put on the E&A website and to be send by to the federations by the office Each council prepares the entry forms, dedicated to each specific Titled Event To be put on the E&A website and to be send by to the federations by the office Reminder that we prefer a written report of each Council for our autumn meeting This report will be used for the Congress, unless otherwise advised by the Council President Age categories Discussion on trying to make the age categories the same within each type of sport, ie all the wakeboard ages are the same. The tournament wording is good and it might be a good idea if all divisions used it stating the last year a skier is eligible to compete is in the year of his x birthday Drones At the World Tournament there were some radio controlled drones flying around over the lake during the competition, being used for photos, etc. This is a growing fashion and could, ultimately prove unsafe for the athletes. The Chief Judge and organiser will have to work out what, if any are allowed and under what conditions. And the officials have to watch out there is no interference with the skiers performance. Also to watch interference between the boat transmission to shore which could occur Late Entry Fees The Tournament Council were asking to have a 15 day entry cut off instead of 10 days. It was seen that the byelaws allow the council to set the number of days provided it is in their rules, so Tournament can do this if they wish. Other Councils may wish to do the same in future. 12. ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 2012 Awards still to be awarded Marie-Anne will arrange this Awards Dominique has found some nice watches and these will be awarded at the E&A Championships the nomination and election procedure will be the same as last year. 13. DEVELOPMENT Development Commission Jean Michel Cau gave a good overview of the work of the DC at our last meeting. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 15

16 13.2. New Federations and prospective members Estonia have created a federation, and want to know how to join. Romania there is more interest and we need to put these people together Gill also advised that Benin and Nigeria have both been in contact with IWWF re joining Med Games The 2017 Med Games will be held in Tarragona, ESP and Alain is due to have a meeting with them. Ivan Morros is the technical delegate from Spain, and Jean Michel Cau will be the technical delegate from IWWF. There is doubt that the Mediterranean Beach Games will be held in Pescara in However, as the first World Beach Games will be held in the same year it may be preferable. 14. CONGRESSES January 31 st 2015 Toulouse. The arrangements are all in hand There is some interest from Turkey to host this in Istanbul, but nothing is finalised so far. We need to act on this quickly to find a venue. Ireland or Great Britain might be possible. 15. DATE AND PLACE OF NEXT ADMINCOM MEETINGS The November 2014 meeting would be held in Lisbon on Monday and Tuesday 10/11. Nuno Eca would be the organiser and the Bureau would try to finalise the arrangements shortly. For the January 2015 Congress meeting, this would be held on Friday 30 th January in the afternoon, followed by a short meeting on the 31 st after the Congress has finished. For the May 2015 meeting no decision was made for the time being, although some members of the Admincom felt they could not take too much time off work, and therefore a fly in, meet and fly out situation was preferable for them. One possibility was to go to Istanbul if some interaction with the federation could be arranged. For the November 2015 meeting Dominique was investigating Zaandam in the Netherlands, however, there was still some negotiation on price needed. For the Spring 2016 meeting, Sid was working on a proposal from Aartselaar, Belgium. More later. 16. ANY OTHER BUSINESS E&A Badges etc The purchase of badges is already agreed. We have a stock of Flags. Agreed no pins are needed. Suggested to order some more stickers, but to try to use the global IWWF logo with the diagonal Europe & Africa Insurance Mike Waterman had been reviewing the E&A Insurance Policies. Personal Accident Insurance Policy Region E & A does itself hold a Personal Accident policy for its Officials in respect of travelling to and from, and whilst engaged at any Region E & A meeting or event. The E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 16

17 cover is for a lump sum payment of 350,000 Euros in the event of certain defined contingencies. It is designed to provide benefit in the event of death, permanent total disability, loss of limb(s) or eye(s), but no weekly benefits. Persons included are President and Secretary General of the Region, all Region officials, including judges, organisers, drivers, time keepers, and all appointed and elected members of committees plus different work groups of Region E & A, whilst carrying out their duties on behalf of the Region. The E & A policy further does not cover claims for medical expenses unconnected to such injury or any other kind of travel insurance benefits, such as baggage, so any such insurances remain the responsibility of each individual person. IWWF has a similar policy to cover the World President and World Secretary General and then members of all the IWWF World level committees and appointed officials for World events. The benefit level as with the Region E & A is for a lump sum benefit but in this case it is for 500,000 Swiss Francs in respect of Death and a scale of benefits for those other contingencies /examples given above but potentially for higher amounts up to 225% of the 500,000 SF (no details to hand). This policy does appear to also cover related medical expenses (I do not have full information) subject to a 100 Swiss Francs excess. This policy seems to restrict cover to those claims arising travelling to and from and/or during IWWF meetings and then to nominated IWWF World Championship and World Cup stop events each year Third Party Liability Insurance Cover At the end of 2011 and the start of 2012, some research was carried in E & A as to what Public Liability (or Third Party) Insurances were then held by our member Federations. Of the 32 federations who took the trouble to reply it was clear that only 17 held any form of such insurance and the impression was given that often such cover would be somewhat limited in scope and level of protection. Enquiries were made extensively in the UK insurance market and eventually a limited form of cover was tabled for Region at some 9000 cost. This was not taken up at the time on cost grounds. IWWF Region E & A at present has no such insurance in place so it as well as some of its member federations are certainly at some degree of risk should a claim for damage to property or personal injury be made against them. They may also be in breach of rules relating to the provision of such insurance for E & A International water ski and wakeboard events that they may host. This is a matter worth checking carefully in relation to each Letter of Agreement signed. Do they comply? The IWWF does hold a form of Public Liability insurance but again only in respect of the list of events scheduled under 2) above. The policy provides a very low level of protection for IWWF at $1m or about 600,000 limit of indemnity. In Mike s opinion this is not a high enough level of cover. Director and Officers Liability Cover The IWWF also holds a policy for Directors and Officers Liability but I have no details of the level or the scope of its cover. I suspect it is limited again to the specifically listed events. After discussion it was agreed that Mike proceeds to speak with the IWWF Insurers to consider putting in place a TPL policy and potentially a D&O policy. There being no further business President Amade thanked all the members for the time and work and closed the meeting. E&A Admincom Minutes Ismaning, Germany - May page 17