New AMYA Footy Ballot

Footy Class General Discussion (Footy)
1

I’ve just sent out a new ballot to all AMYA Footy skippers…so check your email. Here’s what I sent:

A few months ago, you received a ballot from the international Footy Class Association with a number of proposed rules changes.

The Footy Class Association (FCA) is an international group which currently has nine member countries, each maintaining its own Footy registry. When you registered your Footy with AMYA, you were automatically registered with the FCA as well.

I was one of the founding members of the FCA, participating with representatives from the UK and New Zealand to write the class rules and develop the concept of this new international class a few years ago. When the Footy Class was recognized by the AMYA, I intended that the class always follow the international rules in the manner of the AMYA IOM Class.

Not being experienced at class administration, though, I submitted a copy of the international rules to AMYA, and that was published as our official AMYA Footy Class rules, rather than publishing a reference to the international rules. As a result, that original copy is still in effect as our AMYA rules even though the international version has been changed by your votes.

To correct this discrepancy, and to ensure that it won’t happen again, the attached new ballot is being sent to all AMYA-registered Footy skippers.

If you vote “yes” to this proposal, the AMYA Footy Class rules will automatically change to the new version of the international Footy Class Association rules, now and any time the international rules change in the future.

If you vote “no” to this proposal, the AMYA Footy Class rules will remain as originally written and will not be automatically kept in sync with the international rules.

Footys are one of the few true international model yacht classes.

Footy skippers in the US have embraced the international nature of the class and have contributed greatly to it. Footy enthusiasts around the world contributed to our Model Yachting Footy Issue here in the USA. It is our hope to fully continue international participation in the Footy Class. I hope you see the importance of that and acknowledge the intended class vision with a “yes” vote.

Your vote is very important, so be sure to vote promptly. You must return your vote by March 15, 2009 or it will not be counted. Per AMYA bylaws, the decision will be based on a simple majority of the votes cast.

Thanks for your patience through a confusing period of growth pains. Your participation has created one of the most active, fastest-growing model yacht classes in the world.

Bill Hagerup, AMYA Footy Class Secretary

AMYA Footy Class Rules Ballot February, 2009

Moved: To delete the existing AMYA Footy Class rules and replace them with the following:

“AMYA FOOTY CLASS RULES

1.0 The AMYA Footy Class adopts the current international Footy Class Association rules, together with all applicable rules referenced therein, with the following exceptions:

1.1 There are currently no exceptions.”

Please return your “yes” or “no” vote by reply to this email or by other means to:

Bill Hagerup, Footy Class Secretary

431 Sheridan Road

Moultonboro, NH 03254

603-284-6642

billhagerup@hotmail.com

2

How are things going? I wonder how many people will smail their replies? I chose to email my reply back instead of using up my allotment of expensive stamps.

3

Hi Tomo…thanks for your vote.

We have 152 AMYA-registered skippers. I sent out 136 email ballots. Seven were unable to be delivered because of outdated email addresses. Another 9 skippers don’t have email and will have to be contacted through other means.

I’ve received 55 responses already, and I hope the pace will continue. I don’t want to publish the yes/no count for fear of biasing the vote.

Stay tuned…Bill

4

Hi Bill,
It certainly looks to me like you’ve already received a better percentage turnout of votes than the International Ballot did in Nov/Dec! I also sent mine by email, even though email can be “iffy” at times!

See you in Orlando-
Bill Nielsen

5

Please do not take this at this stage as any more han a whinsical though by a highly ironical Brit. But …

By the Footy Class Charter, it is a consideration that you have a working e-mail. So - by the Class Charter - anyone who cannot be contacted electronically is automatically de-registered, so far as the Footy Class is concerned. So, if they are allowed a vote in the AMYA system, we have the quite outrageous situation that people who are not registered Footy owners so far as the class are concerned are allowed to vote on the class rule.

As I said, please, please, do not anybody think of doing anything about this right now. Let common sense prevail (we too have a few highly respected members who do not have e-mail)

The reason why I ask this now is to just put out a small feeler while people’s minds are on the subject to see if anyone would favour attempting to sort out the class charter. Like so many things to do with Footys it was put together on a pretty informal basis and the class is rapidly outgroing it. On the other hand, I don’t want anyoneto think that Footydom is a process of contunual ballots. As long as the Perthona Axis remains Non Grata, there is enough common sense around for us to contunue to muddle alonh, if that is what people want.

:zbeer::zbeer::zbeer::zbeer:

6

Hi Bill,

there’s no need to tell us how the results are going; it’s enough to know that the responses are coming in in-quantity.

Angus-

I’ll agree with your opinions, and add that since the Footy class was largely developed using the Internet and electronic means, that it would be the best time to fully implement contact and possibly even administration through electronic means.

Everything but the registration, which is a good place to keep the human touch, and receiving your registration sticker in possibly a hand-addressed envelope through the post gives one the feeling that they have a personal connection with the class.

This leaves me with one last suggestion: Does anyone have a way to implement an online voting system? I’ve used them for other things, why not use it for radio yachting? Not that we’ll be using it often, that is! :smiley:

thx