Results of the 108th FAI General Conference

The Delegates from the FAI Member Countries participated in the 108th FAI General Conference which took place in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 October 2014. The event was successfully organised by the Royal Aeronautic Sports Association of Thailand (RASAT) which is a Member of the FAI since 1979.

The results of the conference, such as the reelection of FAI President Dr. John Grubbström, are outlined below. The full minutes will be published on the FAI website at the beginning of 2015.

The sessions were preceded by the prestigious 2014 FAI Awards Ceremony on Thursday in presence of aviation personalities coming from Thailand and the world.

On Friday night after the first day of the sessions, a reception and dinner were hosted by RASAT and the organising committee of the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015. The participants in the conference had a chance to meet up with a delegation from the United Arab Emirates which included His Excellency Nasser Al Neyadi, the Vice-President of the Emirates Aerosports Federation (EAF) Yousif Hassan Al Hammadi and the Ambassador of UAE in Thailand Mr. Ali Rashed Ahmed Almazrouei. Inline with the Arab tradition of hospitality, the Emiratis looked forward to extending a warm welcome to all the FAI Member Countries and expressed their gratitude to host the Games. A booth was also specially set up by the Emiratis to present the Games.

Additionally, in support of the initiative to increase the participation of women in air sports and in air sports organisations, a forum was held on Wednesday in conjunction with the General Conference to encourage an exchange of ideas on this important topic.

Election of FAI President

FAI President Dr. John Grubbström was reelected unopposed for a two-year term.

Dr. Grubbström was first elevated to the Federation's presidency in 2010. He was reelected in 2012.

Election of FAI Executive Directors

FAI Executive Directors Otto Lagarhus from Norway and Beat Neuenschwander from Switzerland both announced their decision not to stand for reelection prior to the conference. 

Hungary withdrew its nomination for László Mészáros (Hungary) before the start of the elections.

The candidates elected to serve on FAI Executive Board for a two-year term are:

• Mr. Frederik Brink (Netherlands)
• Mr. Alvaro de Orleans Borbon (Spain)
• Mr. Agust Gudmundsson (Iceland)
• Mr. Robert Henderson (New Zealand)
• Mr. Niels-Christian Levin Hansen (Denmark)
• Mrs. Gillian Rayner (France)

Mr. Robert Clipsham bowed out of the Executive Board after having served many years as Finance Director. He was nominated by the President as Companion of Honor for the 109th FAI General Conference 2015.

Reports and Projects

Reports on different projects were made during the General Conference. They included:

• Sports
  The eleven Air Sport Commissions reported on their activities to develop the sport with the aim to make it more attractive for the audience.
  The overall objective in terms of sports is to connect air sports and expertise in order to enhance the quality of our premier air sports events.
• Marketing & Communications
  Marketing and communications are focusing in increasing the visibility of air sports, especially focusing on the events and the FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015. Measures were taken to further the quality of FAI World Championships events selected for full Breitling branding and support.
• FAI World Air Games Dubai 2015
  The FAI World Air Games has been awarded to the United Arab Emirates and will be held in Dubai.This multi-discipline event will be organised by the Emirates Aerosports Federation and will take place over a period of 12 days in December 2015. It will be the biggest air sports event ever organised. 
• The World Games 2017
  Glider Aerobatics, Parachuting Canopy Piloting and Paramotors have been selected by the IWGA (International World Games Association) for The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland.
• Support for FAI Organisers
  A new Organiser Agreement has been proposed. The intention is to make this assist interested event organisers, air sports commissions and FAI Members in their bidding process and to better prepare and managed the event.
• Anti-Doping
  The FAI continued fighting against doping this year, through a close relationship with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and its European agency based in Lausanne. Following discussions with FAI, WADA decided to allow the FAI not to create a RTP (Registered Testing Pool) for 2015. Testing was conducted along the year: no adverse analytical finding was detected which shows air sports are clean.
• Technical Commissions and Expert Groups
  The Points of Contact of the Expert Groups and the Technical Commissions reported on their activities.
  The FAI Aviation and Space Education Commission was converted into an Expert Group, while the FAI Environmental Commission remains a Technical Commission.

Future FAI General Conferences

The bid by Indonesia (Bali) to host the 110th General conference in 2016 was voted through. Croatia and Montenegro, although not represented at the conference, were also bidding.

As decided last year, the 109th FAI General Conference will take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Members

• African Air Sports Federation (FAA) - International Affiliate
• Arab Air Sports Federation (AAF) -  International Affiliate
• Federação Portuguesa de Voo Livre (FPVL) - Associate
• Segelflugszene gGmbH - International Affiliate

Companions of Honour

Bengt-Erik Fonsell from Sweden and Michiel Kasteleijn from Netherlands were appointed FAI Companions of Honour.

[flickr user=me tag="GC2014"]