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CHAPTER 



One-Design Class Associations 



As stated in Chapter 1, the more active one-designers 

 have associations whose purpose is to police their class rules and promote 

 well-run, well-organized racing. Some associations are informally run or- 

 ganizations handled completely by a devoted band of class owners, while 

 others are large, formal affairs, administered by a paid executive secretary. 

 The International Star Class Yacht Racing Association is a fine example 

 of the latter since it is one of few one-design classes with permanent offices 

 and a secretarial staff. 



The Star has been called the common ancestor of all one-design classes 

 of small racing sailboats. It was the first. Because it is relatively expensive, 

 it has been surpassed in numbers by some of its more prolific offpring, 

 such as Snipes and Lightnings. It was May 30, 1911, that the first race 

 for the class was held on Long Island Sound. The Harlem Yacht Club 

 ran it and there were five starters. The late George Corry, founder and 

 first president of the association, was the winner. Over all these years, 

 the lines of its hull have never been changed, nor has the sail area. The 

 same can't be said of the rig, which evolved from gaff to short Marconi, 

 and then to tall Marconi, and developed along the way the flexible spars 

 that have made and kept it a modern racing machine. 



One reason, other than the boat itself, for the lasting success of the Star 

 class is its organization. In 1922, when the International Star Class Yacht 

 Racing Association was founded, no one knew how to run a one-design 

 class because none existed. A few farsighted individuals set up the new 

 organization and nursed it through its formative years, producing eventu- 

 ally the smooth-running worldwide body which its members enjoy today. 

 Many other classes have copied the Star Association's structure and meth- 

 ods, and it's only through the efficient functioning of racing organizations 



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