Monthly Letter January 2025: German attack against Action4Europe

The annual general meetings of our International Class Association (ICA) should be a fair exchange of ideas and arguments to advance our class.

The French Class Association (KV) has proposed conducting a study to examine the obstacles to our growth. Specifically, the question is whether the focus on people with disabilities is an obstacle in the face of fully inclusive strategies.

Oliver Thies, still chairman of the German Class Association (DKV), has written a furious rejection of this, which unfortunately does not take facts seriously or ignores them:

“The proposal of the French Class Association (and the “Action4Europe"Protectors)... is not only a misguided attempt to advance the class, but rather a disturbing example of the backward-looking mentality that still prevails in this discussion. The survey's first question, "Is the focus on disabled people a hindrance...", is already scandalous, as it suggests that parasports, the inclusion of people with disabilities, and the promotion of diversity are a "hindrance" to our growth. Such an attitude is not only inappropriate, but also dangerous and completely incompatible with the principles of equality and inclusion that form the foundation of our class."

Since the attack was completely unfounded Action4Europe (A4E), I want to clarify some of Oliver's "alternative facts" as part of this campaign. I have no mandate to do so, as A4E cannot have one. This is my personal opinion:

1. A4E is a loose association of 2.4mR sailors. While board members from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria are involved, this is not the case for Germany. In this respect, however, the French KV does not speak for A4E "protagonists," whatever that may be.
2. Oliver and possibly also parts of the board of ICA believe and suggest that parasports = inclusion. The opposite is true: Parasports is exclusion. Inclusion only occurs when everyone participates equally. This is not the case with parasailing. And when the French KV asks whether it might not be a sensible strategy for the 2.4s to participate in regular Olympic regattas, that is an expression of a very high level of inclusion.

Unfortunately, the rejection of the French proposal only serves to defame the proposal and false reports about A4E. Anyone who searches this website for the word Inclusion If you scan the site, you'll realize that people with disabilities aren't being degraded here, but rather that the view is that inclusion is achieved when people stop talking about them. And actually, we don't even need to do that anymore in the 2.4mR community; because inclusion is a given here.

The question arises why a person like Oliver, who

• no longer sails 2.4mR, but OK dinghy,
• who has repeatedly stated that he will soon resign from office,

writes such an abstruse Philippica for the German KV.
Is there someone else behind this?

Since neither board members of the German KV, let alone the members, know what Oliver is writing in their name, the process can be Extract from the annexes to the general meeting the of ICA ...

This article deals only with the debate on the French proposal for Resolution 4.

Detlef Müller-Böling, GER 99
Sailor with a handicap and webmaster of www.2point4.eu