Update on the ILCA debacle
September 10th 2025

PSA push for honesty and transparency - ILCA reject this approach

Q: Why is PSA releasing this statement now?

Following ILCA’s recent public actions, many sailors, customers, suppliers and class stakeholders have asked us to provide more detail about what is going on. This Q&A aims to clarify the key issue, explain PSA’s position and the actions taken with World Sailing to resolve it, and share the facts that led to ILCA’s action, which is being challenged in court in London and Texas. We asked ILCA if we could share the contracts so that you could all see the issue for yourselves, but they refused, claiming confidentiality.

Q: Who owns PSA

PSA was purchased from the New Zealand Spencer family by 54 Knots Limited, the multiple world record-holding endurance power boat team – see www.54knots.com and this purchase was unconditionally approved by ILCA. 54Knots has a very close working relationship with UIM, the powerboat equivalent of World Sailing’s governing body. Before the purchase, we had numerous interactions with Eric Faust and Tracy Usher, who did not disclose to us that the Bruce Kirby one-class design had been altered. Our purchase was motivated by maintaining the PSA's 55-year heritage of building Lasers and ILCA. Had the breach of the one-design class been disclosed to us by ILCA, which it should have been, we would not have bought PSA.

Q: What is the dispute about?

One issue only, the dimensions of the one-class Laser/ILCA dinghy, over which obviously PSA has no control. The one-class rules and dimensions were cast in stone in an agreement in 2005 that PSA, ILCA and others were party to and required the parties to uphold the one—class design as envisaged and established by Bruce Kirby, the designer of the original Laser. The new ILCA is only a rebrand of the original Laser following the 2019 trademark dispute and FRAND agreement with the European Union. Although things may look similar, they are not the same; in a one-class design sport, they should be the same. ILCA is punishing PSA for seeking the truth.

Q: Has ILCA cancelled PSA’s Builder Agreement?

ILCA has publicly stated that Performance Sailcraft Australia is no longer an approved builder. On 31 August 2025, Eric Faust contradicted this and now says our Builder Agreement has not been cancelled.

ILCA now claims it cancelled the Sale and Purchase Agreement dated 9 April 2024 between ILCA, Global Sailing and PSA, not the June 2024 Builder Agreement, which was not yet in force. ILCA has confirmed to us in writing that the June 2024 Builder Agreement has not been cancelled and refuses to confirm that the 2022 Builders Agreement that PSA operates under remains in force. The 2022 agreement is the agreement that PSA operates under today and remains valid and enforceable.

Q: What is the Sale and Purchase Agreement?

The Sale and Purchase Agreement transferred rights to the original Bruce Kirby rights from Global Sailing to ILCA, including PSA’s valid 2022 Builder Agreement. ILCA paid a substantial sum to Global Sailing under that agreement. It was publicised by Tracy User here https://ilcasailing.org/ilca-acquires-rights-to-secure-its-future/. Whilst ILCA acquired the original Bruce Kirby contract to build the Bruce Kirby-designed dinghies to the one-class dimensions as built by PSA, ILCA did not disclose to Global Sailing or PSA that their moulds for the new ILCA were dimensionally different. ILCA did not acquire the PSA rights under the 2005 Builders agreement until it performed on the SPA. ILCA has cancelled that agreement, and PSA retains its rights of control on the original one-class rules and design.

Q: Has PSA met its obligations under its agreements?

Yes. Since acquiring PSA in 2024, we have consistently met our obligations using the original Bruce Kirby-licensed tooling, as required in our 2022 Builders agreement. PSA owned the 2022 Builders Agreement, and ILCA approved its operational continuance in August 2024. The 2024 Builders agreement did not become effective until ILCA performed under the SPA, which they now claim to have cancelled, through their breach of its conditions. PSA has invested significantly in new factory premises and resources to support the class, including widespread sponsorship of athletes and events in Europe and Oceania stretching into 2027.

Q: Is ILCA’s dispute with PSA about how boats are being built?

No. ILCA’s actions are not related in any form to PSA’s production of boats. We have not had an inspection from the ILCA technical team, despite requesting that they attend our factory to assess the mould problems.

Q: Is PSA blocking class changes

No. PSA supports innovation and change and has made multiple positive suggestions to ILCA. ILCA had every opportunity to openly disclose to the class and all associated parties that it planned to make changes to the one-design class in 2019 and 2020 but chose not to do so. PSA asked ILCA to disclose this issue to the class, and ILCA's response was to build using the new moulds and maintain secrecy. PSA was not prepared to deceive its customers, and ILCA is now attempting to destroy our business over our demands for transparency unlawfully.

Q: What does the 2024 agreement say about the ILCA moulds?

In the April 2024 agreement, ILCA were required to deliver moulds within three months that would enable the Laser/ILCA dinghy to be built according to the following diagram. This is identical to the Bruce Kirby design in the 2005 agreements that established all the rules which apply to the vast majority of dinghies in use today. ILCA has consistently refused to confirm that their moulds meet those specifications.

Q: Did ILCA remove technical data from its website?

Yes. After PSA raised discrepancies in the moulds, ILCA removed the dimensional details - which had been published online since 2013 - from its website. This raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability and governance. More recently, other builders and dealers are correcting the dimensional details on their websites to reflect the incorrect ILCA dimensions and not the class-approved Bruce Kirby dimensions.

Q: What happened when the initial ILCA moulds arrived?

In November 2024, PSA received the first set of moulds from ILCA. Upon testing, we found they were defective and unusable. Different manufacturers had clearly produced the deck and the hull moulds. ILCA was unwilling to disclose their origin, which caused significant issues with Australian customs, as the mould was declared used when it was meant to be new. The Australian Border Force then had the shipment impounded. To help ILCA, PSA paid all the fees to release the shipment, and ILCA then took months to reimburse PSA for their mistake. We later discovered that the moulds were not new and had been at another builder for around three years. We documented the issues in a video and shared it with ILCA’s technical team. One example showed a class-legal PSA boat placed in ILCA’s joining rig — and it did not fit, indicating dimensional discrepancies. ILCA technical team had asked us to put a PSA hull and deck into their joining rig, which then identified the issue.

At the time, we assumed this was a manufacturing error. We now believe these fundamental design deviations were deliberate and in breach of the 2005 agreement that established the Builders Manual and the one-class design.

Q: Are there any other issues

Yes, we raised with Tracy Usher and Eric Faust the issue that has been created with the changes to the centre board casing. This now means that there are issues installing the new ILCA centreboards in the 200,000 original Bruce Kirby-designed dinghies.

Q: Did ILCA allow PSA to inspect the second set of moulds?

Initially, ILCA agreed to let us inspect the second set of moulds and the associated plugs and tooling at the manufacturer’s site on the Isle of Wight in April 2025. However, the day before the visit, that access was withdrawn. We were only permitted to view a set of green moulds, but were denied access to the master plug. We had agreed in advance to bring a professional surveyor to assist, but they were prevented from completing a full inspection as ILCA refused access to the plugs.

Q: Did PSA ask for written confirmation of mould compliance?

Yes. After a face-to-face meeting in London with ILCA and World Sailing, PSA has requested in writing on numerous occasions that ILCA confirm that the moulds could produce dinghies to the contractually required specification. ILCA ignored this request even though the answer is either Yes or No. Two weeks ago, in a conversation with Tracy Usher, he was asked to either confirm in writing to PSA that the moulds would deliver the dinghy required by the contract or just tell us that it won’t. It was a simple yes or no question that he refused to answer, just stating that 10mm really doesn’t matter. It’s the length and the beam that have both changed, meaning that the original one-class legal design cannot be produced from the ILCA moulds.

Q: What role does the FRAND agreement play in this dispute?

As part of the 2019 FRAND resolution, PSA agreed to support ILCA’s recruitment of new builders by supplying compliant moulds. Our tooling, based on original Bruce Kirby plugs, is recognised in the Construction Manual, which remains in force today. PSA entered into supply contracts with ILCA in 2019 and 2020 to assist new builders with tooling support. Both Eric Faust and Tracy Usher signed these agreements. ILCA then chose to supply their own moulds to the new builders despite one contract between a new builder and PSA having been signed.

Q: Have multiple different sets of moulds been issued to other builders?

Yes. PSA understands that at least two variations of ILCA’s new moulds have been issued to other builders. We know that the second set was intended to address quality issues found in the first. In addition, ILCA introduced a joining rig — reportedly to force alignment between hull and deck components. PSA’s 1998-matched moulds do not require this realignment.

Q: Has PSA offered to supply moulds to all the new builders to rectify this issue

Yes. We have offered replacement moulds to all the new builders and suggested that a solution to this issue is for World Sailing to accept that around 9000 dinghies are dimensionally different. Had ILCA acted promptly to rectify this issue when PSA raised it, this number would have been substantially lower.

Q: Is PSA’s CE mark being misused?

Yes. PSA has raised concerns with ILCA and World Sailing that its CE mark has been applied to the majority of boats built by new builders using ILCA’s moulds for the European market, even though these boats do not meet the dimensional specifications of the PSA registered CE mark. This misuse applies to the majority of dinghies now produced from ILCA’s moulds.

Q: Has PSA’s deck mould been copied

Yes. The deck mould on the ILCA tolling is identical to the PSA deck, and we have been told by ILCA technical that this was copied, without our knowledge and consent.

Q: 2019 Olympic selection

In 2019, ILCA secured Olympic selection from World Sailing based on the details produced in the document shown (illustration 1).

The stated dimensions are identical to the dimensions in the ILCA contract.

Q: What is PSA doing to resolve this dispute?

PSA initiated an independent review through Sports Resolutions, as required in our agreements with ILCA, before ILCA’s public attempt at termination. World Sailing felt that an independent body should adjudicate this matter, and as such, we complied. Sports Resolution is the agreed contractual process for resolving technical disputes of this nature, fully supported by ILCA, and applies to all builders, not just PSA. ILCA’s actions appear to be intentionally designed to interfere with that process and have ignored requests to join the process.

Q: Has ILCA applied the same standards to other builders?

No. ILCA’s treatment of PSA differs significantly from its handling of new builders for example, one who has manufactured hundreds of non-compliant boats from a variant of the new ILCA mould. Those boats remain in circulation, and ILCA has made no public statement on the matter, nor disclosed the plaque numbers so that owners could validate the quality of their purchase.

Q: What governance concerns does PSA have?

PSA has raised multiple concerns regarding ILCA’s governance, including:

• Refusal to confirm mould compliance to the universal one-class design
• Deletion of technical information and public comments
• Breach of agreed inspection processes
• Failure to follow contractually required dispute resolution procedures
• Damage to PSA’s reputation through misleading public statements.

These actions fall short of the standards expected of a global sports governing body.

Q: Who is impacted by this dispute?

ILCA’s actions affect:

• PSA’s contractual obligations to events and customers
• Sailors awaiting boat deliveries
• Athletes training for Olympic qualification
• Our team members and their families.

This issue goes beyond business - it impacts the sport, and the people who make it what it is. Without rules, there is no sport.

Q: What is PSA’s message to the sailing community?

We have spent months trying to resolve this issue through proper channels. We remain committed to integrity, transparency, and the one-design principle that defines our sport. All ILCA needed to do was acknowledge the issue, and PSA would work with ILCA, the other builders and World Sailing to resolve it. Instead, they have intentionally sought to destroy the PSA businesses, including naming our European companies in this matter, who have no contractual relationship with ILCA.

Sailors, coaches, volunteers and national authorities deserve better - and they deserve a stronger voice in the class’s future. One-design sailing relies on trust, and trust depends on consistency. Without rules you can rely on, there is no fair competition, and everyone loses.

Finally, the whole PSA family would like to thank everyone who has contacted us over the past week with messages of support. We will continue to provide additional updates to you as we believe that sports transparency is a fundamental, and of course, an Olympic-class governance and behaviour rule.

More reading...

Performance Sailcraft Australia Official Statement 29th August 2025

On the incorrect statement by ILCA of Termination of Our 2022 Builder Agreement and the matter of the Integrity of the Laser/ILCA One-Design Principle today.