A set of proposed changes to the FSSA Class Rules are currently being voted on. The changes were primarily driven by the Borrowing and Eligibility Committee and Trophy Committee, along with changes for clarity and consistency. There are changes to the Constitution, which requires approval by the full membership, and changes to the Bylaws, which requires approval by the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors has already approved the Bylaw changes. Assuming the membership approves the changes to the Constitution, all of the changes will be put in practice following the 2026 Midwinter Championship.
The changes to the constitution (currently out for vote by the membership) include:
- ‘Active’ membership has been renamed to ‘Individual’ membership
- ‘Honorary’ membership was added
- Wording regarding Scots n’ Water magazine was changed to show only the digital version is automatically received as part of membership. Receiving the printed version is now available at an extra cost
- Other updates were made for clarity and consistency
The changes to the bylaws (approved last month by the Board of Governors) include:
- Membership types and information was updated to be consistent with the changes to the Constitution
- With the change to auto-renewal of memberships and our new website/member management system, memberships now expire exactly one year from the previous membership payment date
- The skipper must still be the boat owner and must be on board for all races in a series, but at any event other than the Flying Scot North American Championship, any crew can handle the helm for any length of time. For NACs, the skipper must handle the helm, although a crew is allowed to take the helm on downwind legs
- For co-owners: Co-ownership must be recorded with FSSA 6 months prior to the event for a co-owner to register as the skipper.
- Any Flying Scot owner may borrow a boat with no approval required. A set of guidelines will be published that prevent abuse of this policy
- For NACs:
- The Masters championship has been eliminated
- The requirements for the Senior Championships have been changed so that the skipper and at least one crew shall each be at least 70 years old by the close of registration (previously it was 60 years old.)
- Several perpetual trophies were eliminated