The International Jumping Riders Club since 1977 is the voice of the showjumping riders from around the world.
International Jumping Riders Club
FEI Board meeting – Summary of main decisions (25 June)
FEI Board meetings are held twice a year, once at the Headquarters in Lausanne (standalone) and once within the FEI General Assembly week. The FEI Board is the body responsible for the general direction of the FEI and for all relevant matters not consigned to the General Assembly.
FEI Board Meetings held in Lausanne (standalone), here some of the main decisions:
- FEI General Regulations and anti-doping rules:
The Board unanimously approved proposed changes to the FEI General Regulations and the Anti-Doping Rules (both human and equine), which – along with all Rules undergoing revision in 2020 – will be finalised and shared with National Federations and stakeholders on 13 July for feedback. Under the FEI Rules Revision policy, there will then be a seven-week consultation period for National Federations and stakeholders to make comments and/or propose any additional changes. The final draft of the proposed rules changes will be provided to National Federations and stakeholders on 20 October prior to the Federations’ vote during the 2020 FEI General Assembly. Initial comments from National Federations and stakeholders on the proposed changes to the disciplines rules, which have been kept to a minimum for 2020, were also reviewed by the Board and will now go forward to the National Federations and stakeholders as per the above consultation process.
- FEI Jumping European Championships 2021
The European Equestrian Federation (EEF) asked the FEI Board to reconsider their decision to cancel the FEI European Championships 2021 in the Olympic and Paralympic Disciplines following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Referring specifically to the FEI Jumping European Championships, the EEF were confident that a solution could be found and that the elements which had driven the Board to cancel the Championships had changed and there was an opportunity to be exploited. In light of the EEF’s public support for an FEI Jumping European Championship 2021, the FEI Board mandated the EEF to present a realistic proposal (venue, host NF, dates, etc) that addresses all the concerns that originally led to the cancellation at the next Board Meeting on 21 July in line with the requirements stipulated in the FEI Host Agreement for European Championships.
- Impact on FEI Calendar and FEI Championships
The Secretary General updated the Board on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the FEI Calendar, with statistics to show per month and per discipline the number of competitions at events that had been cancelled up to 16 June 2020. Overall, 3,352 competitions had been cancelled so far, with 2,953 of these directly attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. This amounted to approximately 50% of the competitions scheduled for 2020, with more cancellations expected in the future. The figures presented showed how different disciplines were affected at different rates, with both Reining and Para Driving experiencing a 100% rate of cancellation, followed by 82% for Vaulting and 75% for Driving while the other disciplines were around 40-50%.
- Cancelled Competitions at FEI Events 2020
(These figures include all competitions cancelled up to 16 June 2020)
JUMPING:
Ordinary cancellation: 166
Covid-19 cancellation: 956
Grand Total: 1122
This was followed by a lengthy discussion on FEI Championships 2020 and all the related complications due to cancellations, potential postponements and changes of venues. All Championship allocation discussions and resolutions will be finalised at the Thursday Board Meeting to ensure consistency in the decision-making process. These allocations and decisions will be announced on Friday 26 June.
- Measures to safeguard the sport
The Board received an overview of the measures already approved and their financial consequences and agreed that the FEI to hold discussions with the Equestrian Organisers (EO) and the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) in order to explore further possible solutions that would re-energise the equestrian sporting calendar.
Link to all the main decisions here
FEI website