Sunday, October 26, 2014, in the glamorous Ibiza yacht charter location, nestled in Spain, was marked by the 87th UIM General Assembly, which crowned the annual meeting week. This was attended by the members of all UIM Commissions, Committees, Working Groups, Council and Executive Committee The UIM President, Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, along with newly appointed Secretary General Thomas Kurth, who welcomed the Member Federations’ delegates, who had travelled to Ibiza from around the world, and expressed his thanks to hosts RFEM as well as IWC on behalf of the General Assembly.
The 87th UIM Annual General Assembly hosted by the lovely Ibiza yacht holiday destination in Spain
In his opening address, Raffaele Chiulli reviewed the 2014 achievements and outlined the progress of the UIM in the areas of Environment, Youth Development, Formula Future and Safety. Speaking of UIM’s strong commitment regarding Equality and Athletes related matters he warmly welcomed the members of these two newly created committees and he reaffirmed his willingness “to put the Sport at the centre” by emphasizing the importance for the UIM to provide on-going support to the National Authorities and to further strengthen the relationships with the athletes “No one of us individually can achieve what we, as a Team, can achieve” Raffaele Chiulli said at the end of the UIM General Assembly meeting.
The following decisions were taken during the meeting:
The UIM General Assembly accepted applications for full membership by the Bulgarian Powerboat Federation, the Lebanese Motorboat Federation (LMF) and the Croatian Jet Ski Association (JSSH) and approved the applications of Cyprus and Canada to become UIM Corresponding Members.
Messrs Jean-Marc Giraldi (MON), Jean-Marie Van Lancker (BEL) and Christer Gustafsson (SWE – Treasurer) were re-elected as UIM Administrators and Mr Luis Miguel Ribeiro (POR) was elected to the vacant position. Mr. Fred Hauenstein (USA) was appointed UIM Vice-President.
The UIM General Assembly ratified the unanimous decision taken by the Executive Committee and the Council to appoint Mr. Riccardo La Cognata as Head of UIM President’s Office.
Mr Jerzy Czeszko, UIM Vice-President 2008 – 2014 was nominated as UIM Member of Honor.
During the General Assembly, important amendments to the UIM Statutes have been made, in order to assure the highest standards of conduct in sport administration and competitions.. To meet this commitment, the UIM has adopted the updated Code of Ethics which comprises five pillars: Equality, Fair Play, Respect, Integrity and Environment. It imposes clear ethical obligations to competitors, teams, promoters, officials and all other UIM accredited persons.
After the first meeting of the Athletes Committee Chairwoman Marit Stromoy, a great powerboating Athlete, stressed the importance of creating a bridge between the athletes and the UIM National Authorities: “We are the reality, we are on the races, your decisions really affect us!”
The 87th General Assembly was also the stage of the first meeting of the Equality Committee. Inspired by the UIM “Yes we care” principle, Michela Lauta, chairing the Equality Committee, appreciated the enthusiasm of the members during the constructive and fruitful meeting.
The UIM President Dr. Raffaele Chiulli, at the conclusion of the UIM General Assembly, stated: “I am very happy about the many significant steps forward we have done together here in Ibiza. We faced several challenges, we have had some good successes so far, there is still much to do…however, by working together we will succeed! Thanks for your support and commitment!”
