2004 MISTRAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION SYSTEM
PRINCIPLES

i. All competitors shall be a member of a National IMCO, which is in good standing with IMCO International.

ii. The target maximum number of competitors for the men's fleet is 120 and for the women's fleet is 90. Men and women shall race separately.

iii. A maximum of 9 men and 7 women from one nation may occupy qualification places and register, excluding places by right.

iv. If a maximum fleet size is not reached, IMCO Int. reserves the right to increase the size of the maximum country quota(s) for a national team in that/those fleet(s) if requested to do so by that National IMCO.

v. A "Wild Card" or a "Place by Right" is not a qualification place.

vi. The first regatta in which a competitor qualifies shall count. If a competitor fills a qualification place again or that competitor is from a nation that has reached the maximum national country quota, the place will be handed down to the next eligible competitor at that regatta.

vii. If a nation has qualified more than 9 men, those men will be ranked according to points attributed to them by the following calculation…

     COMPETITION VALUE (C.V.) divided by OFFICIAL RESULT = COMPETITOR'S POINTS

     - If a man has raced in more than one qualification regatta, the calculation will be applied to each of those  regattas and his highest points will count.

     - The man with the highest points will head the ranking list. The first 12 men will qualify for the European Championship.

      - Those qualification places vacated by this process will be re-allocated as wild cards. 

      - If a tie exists at the cut-off point, the man with the best finishing position in his counting regatta will qualify.

viii. If, by the cut-off date specified in the NoR places remain unfilled, they shall be allocated as ‘Wild Cards.

ix. ‘Places by Right’ shall be managed by the National IMCO concerned. They do not form part of the maximum entry quota per fleet.

x. The World Champion is not counted as part of the max. national entry quota.

xi. Results from Qualifying Regattas held in the year of the World Championship to be staged shall count except when World Championships are less than 12 months apart and qualifying Regatta 'X' has not yet been held in the current year in which case the results from Regatta ‘X’ in the previous year shall count towards qualification.

xii. The IMCO Executive office shall handle registrations.

xiii. Qualified competitors who have not entered & paid the entry fee by the cut-off date specified in the NoR may have their places re-allocated as Wild Cards.
 
B. QUALIFICATION SYSTEM
Men may qualify for the World Championship, if...

i. Places ‘By Right’…Their National IMCO allocates them a place ‘By Right’.

ii. World Champion…They are the reigning World Champions.

iii. Continental Championships… They win a place within the Quotas allocated to Mistral Continental Championships.

iv. ‘Grand Slam’  & ‘Tour’ Qualifiers… They win a qualification place at one of the ‘Grand Slam’ or ‘Tour’ Regattas. This place may have to be confirmed by the applicable National IMCO.

v. Host Nation… One or more competitors from the ‘Host Nation’ must have participated in one or more of the eligible qualification regattas for the World Championship to be staged and failed to qualify before the ‘Host Nation’ may be offered a maximum of 2 men/2 women places.

vi. Wild Cards… IMCO Int. allocates them a 'Wild Card Entry'.

C. PLACES ALLOCATED BY RIGHT
Each National IMCO is allocated places ‘By Right’ according to the category of memberships, which it holds, provided that it, is in good standing. See App. 1 for details.

D. CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Each Mistral Continental Championship has been allocated the following Quota Places.

E.        ‘GRAND SLAM’ REGATTAS
These will be 'Open Entry' regattas and may include a qualification and final series.

Garda '03	5 men
Palma ‘03	5 men
Hyeres ‘03	5 men
Spa ‘03	5 men
Kiel ‘03	5 men
Total	25 men

           
    
           
        
          

F.         ‘TOUR’ REGATTAS
These are 'Open Entry' regattas with no restrictions on those who may qualify.  

Melbourne	3 men
Auckland	3 men
Miami	3 men
Cork ‘03	3 men
Fukuoka ‘03	3 men
Total	15 men

     
      
                     
             

G. WILD CARD ENTRIES
Places not otherwise taken up or entries not paid for by the cut-off date specified in the NoR may be re-allocated as Wild Cards to competitors who raced at one or more of the eligible qualification regattas according to the following system…

· Criteria for inclusion in the wild card ranking list.

a) All outstanding fees due to IMCO International from the National IMCO or relevant competitor must have been paid. ("In good standing")

b) Competitors from countries not otherwise represented must comply with Class Rule 2.1 (Membership).

c) Competitors wishing to apply for a Wild Card must do so in writing to IMCO International and have the support of their national IMCO who shall countersign the letter of application.

· Wild card places ranking list for men

 Eligible competitors will be placed on the Wild Card Places Ranking List by IMCO Int. using the following system....   

 a) IMCO Int. WILL DECIDE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REMAINING WILD CARDS PLACES. 

 b) THE CUT OFF POINT WILL BE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PLACES AVAILABLE LESS 20% or A MINIMUM 2 MEN. 

c) IMCO int. RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ALLOCATE 20% OF THE AVAILABLE PLACES or A MINIMUM 2 MEN. 

d) COMPETITORS POSITION ON THE WILD CARD RANKING LIST WILL BE CALCULATED USING THE FOLLOWING FORMULA... 

Competitor's Points = Competition Value (c.v.) divided by Official Result 

e) THE HIGHEST SCORE WILL HEAD THE LIST. 

f) THOSE ABOVE THE CUT OFF POINT WILL BE AWARDED WILD CARD PLACES. 
NB. If a tie exists at the cut-off point, the competitor who competed at his ‘home’ continental championship will have priority. 

Appendix 1  
Categories of Membership for National IMCOs   

NON EUROPEAN NATIONAL IMCOs 

North America	South America	Asia	Oceania
Barbados  1	Argentina  2	Hong Kong  1	Australia 1
Canada  1	Brazil 1	Indonesia  1	NZL  1
Cuba  1	Uruguay 1	India  1	Tahiti  1
Nether Ant  1		Japan  2
Mexico  1		Korea  1
USA  2		Macau  2
		Pakistan  1
		Thailand  1
		China  2
		Singapore  1
		Philippines  1
		Taipei  1

EUROPEAN NATIONAL IMCOs        

Algeria  1	Andorra 1	Austria 1
Belarus  1	Belgium  2	Bulgaria 1
Cyprus  2	Czech Rep.  1	Egypt  1
France  3	Germany 3	GBR  2
Greece  1	Hungary 2	Israel 1
Italy  2	Latvia 1	Lithuania 1
Malta   1	Netherlands 2	Poland 2
Portugal  1	Russia  1	Seychelles 1
Slovakia   1	Spain 2	Switzerland  1
Tunisia  1	Turkey 1	Ukraine 1

· Each National IMCO, in good standing, is allocated places ‘By Right’ equivalent to the category of memberships, which it holds.

i.e.	Category 1	One man
	Category 2	Two men
	Category 3	Three men

· National IMCOs wishing to change their category must advise the IMCO International Executive Office, in writing, prior to January 1st. of the year in which they wish the change to be effective.