My time during the third week of October was entirely dedicated to the FAI 94^th General Conference held in Montreux, and I believe to have well spent my time this year. This was not always the case in the past, and because I feel that two of this year’s General Conference’s issues mandate some more detailed information, I will use this column to report and to share some views and facts with you.

You are no doubt aware (by having been informed through your NAC) that the FAI is in the middle of a rather important restructuring effort, important not so much for the FAI as central administrative body, but very important for the FAI’s air sport activities. The FAI’s Structural Working Group, set up after last year’s General Conference in Linköping, came up with the catalogue of measures and proposals below, destined to redefine the FAI by what it is good at doing right now (the air sport activities) rather than by what it was good at in the past (the NACs).

1. LONG TERM GOAL OF STRUCTURAL WORKING GROUP (SWG) PROCESS

2. DEFINITION OF VISION

2.1 RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND OBLIGATIONS

FAI is "the sole international body governing air sports" (Statute 1.8.1). Such a position is by nature a monopoly, which confers rights and privileges and carries obligations. As the world’s chief promoter of air sports and record attempts, FAI carries the obligation to be the driving force in the continuous development of these activities.

FAI’s primary purpose is to create and maintain conditions optimally conducive to the promotion and development of air sports. This primary purpose extends to each element of FAI: Members and Commissions.

When facing a challenge involving new sporting developments and the manifestation of FAI’s public profile, FAI - with its Air Sport Commissions - has no option but to take appropriate action. Inaction, or deferred action in the face of challenge will always be seen as failure to fulfil its claimed role.

In the same manner, each national member organisation has no option but to take appropriate initiatives and to promote and develop air sports within its domain. Inaction on the part of a FAI Member will be seen as failure to fulfil its obligations towards the individual air sport participants it represents.

FAI manages air sport development primarily through a system of Commissions and has devolved to each of these the responsibility for a particular field or sport. In addition, important FAI activities are centrally managed and financed, including the development and maintenance of FAI’s public profile.

Centrally financed investment in future development does not necessarily yield rewards in the short or medium term, nor will investments necessarily yield financial returns to the part of the organisation that provides the funds.

In order for FAI to meet its obligations as the world body governing air sports, available assets need to be applied towards maintaining initiative and momentum, always considering that FAI is one, unified organisation, where benefits may accrue to other parts of the organisation than the one making the investment.

3. FUTURE FRAMEWORK

3.1. The SWG bases its detailed proposals on the above statement of rights, privileges and obligations, creating the following framework of future concepts:

3.1.1 FAI is a full-bodied organisation in itself and not solely a service bureau for Members.

3.1.2. It is vital to generate a greatly increased level of public interest in air sports.

3.1.3. FAI competitions need to become global media events. Air sports are attractive to the media.

3.1.4. In order to gain prestige, air sports must have a high media profile, and be prominent and visible among other sports. The format of the WAG should be reviewed to make it more attractive for the media and the public.

3.1.5. FAI should continue its TV production efforts. Significant sums of money have already been invested over several years. Failure to continue this effort now would mean having wasted this investment. TV rights will eventually generate enough revenue, directly or indirectly, to start reducing the part of the budget paid by the members.

3.1.6. An invitation should be issued to FAI members and Air Sport Commissions (ASCs) to invest in the "media future".

3.1.7. The FAI budget must be funded partially from outside, commercial sources. However, having members (and membership fees) is a way of strengthening commitment and a feeling of belonging among Air Sport Participants (A.P.s), NACs and air sports.

The SWG noted that the FAI scale of subscriptions is adopted annually by the General Conference. There is no provision in Statutes or By Laws determining the principles on which subscriptions should be based. The SWG recommended the following principles:

4.1. FAI should determine how many air sport people (APs) there truthfully are in each country, using all available sources of information.

4.2. AP numbers, and this factor alone, should determine the fees payable and number of votes at General Conference.

4.3. An equal fee for each AP in every NAC is impracticable. A sliding scale is needed, with the per capita fee decreasing in tiers as the number of APs in a country grows.

4.4. Members must be grouped in classes to avoid the complexity of an individual pricing system.

4.5. There is no money, strength and will in present member organisations to pay more to FAI. But the potential for greater income from APs is there.

4.6. There is a need to re-institute a small (1 to 3%) annual subscription fee increase reflecting the rise in the cost of living index.

5. MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

5.1. Providing membership criteria is a way of guiding the organisation and operation of air sports in the different countries all around the world and thus promoting air sports. FAI must precisely define what it requires of its members:

• To remain representative of all air sports practised in the country
• To respect all aspects of FAI statutes, by-laws, sporting code etc
• To report annually to FAI on time
• To nominate and send representatives to appropriate commissions and to the General Conference, and if unable to attend then to give a proxy or send apologies, preferably with views on agenda items in writing.
• To nominate and send participants to appropriate international air sport competitions.
• To pay dues on time.

Based on the framework of thinking described above, the SWG’s remit under the tasking given by the 93rd General Conference in Linköping is fulfilled in the recommendations below.

6. MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE

The SWG identified the key membership questions as being: "How can FAI help to ensure that all APs in member countries are properly represented?" and " Under what conditions should FAI allow single-sport organisations to become FAI (Associate) Members?" Its recommendations are as follows:

6.1. The basic principle of one Member per country should be upheld provided that the conditions in 6.2 below continue to be fulfilled:

6.2. A FAI Member with monopoly power must always meet the following minimum criteria:

• To properly represent all air sport disciplines active in the country.
• To respect all aspects of FAI statutes, by-laws, sporting code etc.
• To pay subscriptions on time.

6.3. The following means should be applied by FAI so that non-compliant NACs can more easily be suspended, expelled or caused to resign. Legitimate complaint must be the criterion.

6.4. If a FAI Member with monopoly power no longer fulfils the criteria in paragraph 6.2. above, FAI should also have the power to admit Associate Members from the country concerned.

6.5. The fulfilment of these criteria should be determined by FAI. For 6.2 above (first two points), FAI should react to legitimate complaints.

6.6. A complaint received should be deemed legitimate or otherwise by the FAI Secretary General (no need for a minimum number of signatures or any other procedural restrictions).

6.7. If it is deemed legitimate by the Secretary General , the complaint shall be put to the Executive Board for appropriate action.

6.8. The options for Executive Board action are:

• rejection of the complaint ;
• recovery of sporting powers to FAI;
• admission of additional Associate Members from the country concerned,
• recommendation for the Active Member’s suspension or expulsion;

6.9. Fees for Associate Members admitted under the circumstances described in paragraphs 3.4/3.8 above should be determined by FAI. They should not be aligned with fees for "non-breakaway" Associate members, but rather be proportional to the NAC’s fee plus a % factor to make it financially unattractive to break away.

6.10. All Associate Members should continue to have voting rights at Air Sport Commission level only (that is no General Conference votes).

6.11. General Conference votes should be allocated according to the number of A.P.s represented.

6.12. The circumstances under which FAI Sporting Powers can be delegated to NACs and other organisations should be better defined, especially in connection with the need to use professional event organisers for major events.

7. RAISING REVENUE FROM OTHER SOURCES.

The SWG agreed on several comments and suggestions in connection with the raising revenue from other sources:

7.1. SWG recommends raising the value of FAI and air sports in general through more media exposure. We should seek to increase awareness of the fact that the return on investment does not necessarily come directly to FAI itself, or to NACs, but to the general AP community. This is part of FAI’s promotional role.

7.2. People will be prepared to invest for a convincing vision of the future. When media rights were concentrated centrally in FAI, the TWI and Discovery deals resulted. Any slow-down in this area would be very detrimental.

7.3. FAI should take from the resources already available to allow for the hiring of a media executive. The money that FAI has invested should be made to work for a more secure future for FAI. A figure approaching CHF 500 000 per year is needed to fund TV management and production (production costs plus TV/Media person in office).

7.4. Hire an additional person in the FAI office to bring in revenue (promoter/fund raiser).

7.5. Persuade philanthropic individuals to contribute to a fund (target e.g. 20m$) for the future of air sport (bequests in wills or donations in conjunction with major anniversaries). FAI would not be able to touch the principal, but could use the interest for specified purposes.

7.6. Corporate FAI Membership. Companies that wish to set world records in the aircraft they have manufactured could be required to become corporate members of FAI. There would be a need to define precisely what and how FAI can "sell" to businesses under the title of corporate membership. The SWG recommends that a new Corporate Membership category be introduced and that detailed proposals be drawn up to this end for presentation to the 2002 FAI General Conference.

7.7. The SWG is split on the issue of setting a specific, interim target for FAI of obtaining, say, X% of FAI income from other sources within Y years, i.e there is no consensus on this subject.

8. STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND FAI MEMBERSHIP

The SWG considered that the measures recommended above would already serve substantially to strengthen FAI membership. There was general agreement that FAI should not work actively to extend further the number of member countries, although it should continue to welcome warmly new members who applied spontaneously. Other proposals were:

8.1. FAI’s visual image needs to be polished and made more appealing to APs. FAI needs a new logo, a common image giving internal cohesion and an increased awareness of FAI amongst APs. Media exposure is one way to achieve this, since it makes for a closer relationship with APs.

8.2. FAI can help strengthen its member organisations by ensuring that they are representative of APs.

8.3. A special internal marketing effort is needed in order to achieve a closer relationship between FAI and APs.

The above recommendations are, for the time being, exactly that. The General Conference did not decide on any of the recommendations, and we will have to wait for another year before being presented with final wording. So, if you have something to add, don’t hesitate to contact your CIA delegate or your NAC. I am sure they will be grateful for any input.

The other noteworthy issue with direct implications for the Air Sport Commissions concerned the future of the World Air Games. Again, having learned the hard way, the FAI is now prepared to reconsider the ways future WAGs can be organised and a number of different models is likely to emerge very soon, especially of organization and structure. In this respect, the Air Sport Commission Presidents present already unanimously agreed to

• to fully support the common effort to continue the WAGs
• no longer stage World- or Continental Championships during the WAGs,
• devise special participation and qualification criteria, different from World- or Continental Championship participation criteria,
• devise or adapt the participating competitions to increase their respective competitor, public and media appeal,
• favor a single-site, multi-sports event.

It has to be noted that the CIA’s reports and competitors’ polls on the 2^nd WAGs in Spain have greatly contributed to the discussions.

The ASC Presidents also agreed to meet in Lausanne in early February to evaluate and to discuss the above mentioned models.

I agree that this report is not really easy to read, but I felt that you should know what’s going on in FAI, so that you can discuss these issues with your fellow balloonists and your NACs. I look forward to your comments.

In the mean time, all the best and season’s greetings.

Jean Claude Weber,

CIA President

Back from the ballooning events in the 2^nd World Air Games in Seville, I feel an urgent need to thank all competitors, officials and organisers for their participation in the AA and AX events. These events have undoubtedly been made a success by all the participants for the benefit of our sport and therefore also for the FAI. The world’s balloonists have all the reasons to be proud of their performance and their sport. In Seville I had that rarely lived feeling of solidarity between all our participants; gas and hot air competitors, officials and organisers all mixed perfectly well and it was a pleasure to assist at the many flights and social activities.

Oh yes, not all was perfect and some of the participants felt very strongly about some shortcomings, and our competitors expressed their satisfaction and their concerns quite freely after the events at the CIA debriefings. It was also interesting to learn from a CIA Competitors Subcommittee questionnaire, distributed to all competitors during the event, that of the 28 competitors who replied

• 68% are generally satisfied with the organisation and the competition,
• 57% believe the participation cost to have been to high and 54% would have preferred to make their own participation arrangements (vs all inclusive),
• 40% were not financially supported by their NAC or other sponsors,
• 68% feel that the event was not different from a World or Continental Championship,
• 75% did not see any other air sport activity during the WAG
• 57% rate the WAG ballooning events of a lower status than a World Championship
• 64% believe in the WAG future
• 68% support the CIA’s efforts to promote the FAI’s WAG goals
• 54% support the CIA’s WAG competitors selection process
• The full replies to the questionnaire can be found on the CSC’s website.)

All in all, these numbers tend to confirm my personal impression that the WAG are now well accepted and that a majority wishes the FAI and CIA to continue with the Games. Fair Play and mutual respect must be the prime motors in any sport, including air sports, and it seems to me that most of our participants feel comfortable with these basic objectives and adhere. Although a few of the competitors’ comments and actions clearly indicated that these principles were not really understood by some (one comment, by a competitor who has had his participation sponsored by 75%, complained that he had to pay for the "vacation" of officials), I am confident that in the long run they will be understood by all willing to enter our events. It is therefore vitally important that we continue to have good sport and fun at our events and that we show the sceptics that it is worth participating.

But, if these events have been so successful, how comes that we were unable to show this to the "outside" world? This being the World Air Games, I dearly missed the opportunity to assist at other air sport events and to share the enthusiasm and love for our respective air sports and the same element, and I am convinced, by what I hear from other air sports, that they were equally frustrated. Thus this magic feeling of solidarity could not spread through all of the WAG events. Communication and PR were catastrophic, at least as far as ballooning is concerned. This came as a surprise, especially so as one could assume that the lesson from the 1^st WAG had been learned, although at the same time we knew from the beginning that the organisers’ resources would be spread very thinly over the different WAG sites and that this would make it nearly impossible, or at least very difficult, to paint a homogeneous picture of the WAG.

I strongly believe that the World Air Games are a fantastic opportunity and promotional tool for the FAI and all its air sports. We have the content the public and the media we are looking for. But we have to arrange this content in a way that makes it interesting. Spreading it all over Spain (or any other country for that matter) does not really help. Should there be a 3^rd edition of the WAG, and I sincerely hope so, than it will be necessary to revise the concept and to finally realise that only with a single site combination event can we achieve our goal.

J.C. Weber

CIA President

3.1 AGENDA ITEMS

All items for inclusion in the agenda for the 2001 Plenary Meeting must reach the CIA President and the CIA Secretary NOT LATER THAN 22nd DECEMBER 2001.

These will then be included in the agenda which will be mailed in January 2002. Agenda items should include any supporting documentation, and a position paper, all of which will be included with the agenda.

3.2 CONFERENCE DETAILS

3.2.1 DATES

6 & 7 March Subcommittee and Working Group Meetings
8 & 9 March Plenary Meeting

3.2.2 LOCATION

The Conference will take place at:
Reval Hotel Latvija,
Elizabetes 55,
RIGA, Latvia
Tel: +371 7772260
Fax: +371 7772332
Email: Latvija.sales@revalhotels.com
Contact: Ms. Everita Machule

3.2.3 ACCOMMODATION

Reval Hotel Latvija
US $85 single occupancy
US $95 twin occupancy
Including full breakfast buffet, taxes and VAT

3.2.4 RESERVATIONS

Please make your own reservations direct with the hotel using the form included with this newsletter.

3.2.5 ACCESS

By air to Riga from the following International hubs – Frankfurt, Prague, Vienna, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, London, Moscow.

3.2.6 CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

Please complete the form included with the newsletter and return it to the CIA Secretary.

As you will see from the list on the previous page a number of countries have made a donation to CIA this year, but there are very many more which have not!

Your donations are very important to the CIA, and enable it to continue to serve our sport world wide in an efficient and effective way.

The CIA Donations Scheme is based on the number of pilots each country declares in its Annual Return, and the minimum rates are as follows:

Please make your donation using one of the methods listed below.

All payments under $500, and ALL Donations, can be paid to the FAI/CIA by Credit Card using the approved form. All payments over $500, including ALL Sanction Fees, should be paid by Bank Wire Transfer. Please use the following bank routing information when you wire funds to FAI for the CIA account:

International Money Transfer order or SWIFT Transfer, and state what the payment is for.

SWIFT CODE: CRES CHZZ 20A
Bank A/C Name: Federation Aeronautique Internationale
Bank A/C Nos: 0425-457968-32-1 (US$), 0425-457968-31 (CHF) or
0425-457968-32 (EURO)
Bank: Credit Suisse Private Banking, Rue du Lion d‘Or 5-7,
Case postale 2468, CH-1002 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mark: Without charge for the beneficiary, and state what payment is for.

7. POINTS FOR ACTION FROM THE CIA PLENARY MEETING,
BERN, SWITZERLAND 2^ND & 3^RD MARCH 2001

15. JURY BOARD

To distribute a re-test paper to those Jurors who took their latest test more than 5 years ago.

To publish Version 6/2001 of the Jury Handbook on the CIA web.

20. To ensure completion and posting on the CIA web of revised Jury Board Tests.

16. OBSERVER SUBCOMMITTEE

To update the Observer Handbook with the approved changes.

To add the Observer Evaluation Report to the Register of Observers

To add the approved Observer Invitation Policy Document as an appendix to the Observer Handbook and insure it is included in EPAS Sanction Documents.

17. PR & DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE

To review CIA name and logo and make recommendations to the Plenary Meeting in 2002.

To produce a CIA brochure and CD by June 2001

18. EPAS

To ensure the approved Special Plenary Tracking Working Group completes its work by the 2002 CIA Annual Conference.

To work with the Competitor SC to identify what information would be useful for competitors to know prior to sanction approval and make that information available.

24. To re-introduce the proposed changes to S1, Chapter 7 at the 2002 Plenary

19. CIA SECRETARY

To ensure the inclusion in the CIA Internal regulations of the approved
‘CHAPTER 15 – REGISTER OF NOTABLE FLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS’.

19. CIA PRESIDENT

To request CIA to review their record procedures as stated in GS 6.8.2 and 6.8.4 and consider authorising each ASC to be able to extend the deadline for submission of World Record claims in their specific sports.

22. To ask FAI to obtain all the relevant ATC and Immigration Permissions required for future Gordon Bennett races.

22. RULES SUBCOMMITTEE

To standardise in all MERs the rule concerning ‘Qualification of Flight Crew/Passengers in sanctioned events’.

To make the approved changes to the Gordon Bennett MER.

To make the approved changes to the BX MER

To implement the reprint of the proposed S1 Chapter 7 in January 2003.

To instigate further discussion on the nomination process for Montgolfier Diplomas and the Santos Dumont Gold Airship Medal.

To make the approved changes to Section 1 of the Sporting Code.

32. AA & AM WORKING GROUP

Coupe Gordon Bennett proposals. To insure completion of the work required by the approved motions 1 – 4 and addition (b).