1. Introduction
The International 49er Class Association (“the Class,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates 49er.org (the “Site”) to support sailors, teams, event organizers, and members of the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 sailing community. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through the Site, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the choices available to you. We have written this policy to be clear and reasonably conservative: we collect only what we need to run the Class and its events, and we do not sell personal information.
2. Who Is Responsible for Your Information
The International 49er Class Association is the data controller for personal information collected through this Site. If you have any question about this policy or how your information is handled, please contact us at 9erinc@49er.org.
3. Information We Collect
We collect information in the following ways:
Information you provide directly. When you use a form on the Site — for example the Contact Us form, the newsletter subscription form, membership or registration forms, or equipment inspection and measurement forms used at events — we collect the information you choose to submit. This typically includes your name, email address, sailing club or nation, sail number, and the content of your message or submission. Some event-related forms (such as equipment declarations and inspection records) may also collect boat and equipment details needed for class measurement and rules compliance.
Regatta and results information. As a class association, we publish results, entry lists, tracking data, and related event information for regattas we or our members participate in. This can include sailors’ names, sail numbers, nationality, club or team affiliation, and race results, which are provided by event organizers, timing and tracking providers, or sailors themselves, and which we consider necessary for the normal public administration of the sport.
Information collected automatically. Like most websites, our Site automatically records certain technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and referring website, generally through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 5 below).
Information from third parties. Where relevant to class administration, we may receive information from World Sailing, national class associations, event organizers, race management or results platforms, or equipment measurers, such as membership status, results, or measurement/certification records.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information for purposes such as:
• Operating and administering the Class, including membership records, sail number registration, and equipment certification;
• Organizing, publicizing, and reporting on regattas and championships, including publishing results, entry lists, and news;
• Responding to enquiries submitted through our Contact Us form;
• Sending newsletters or class communications to those who have subscribed;
• Maintaining the security, performance, and proper functioning of the Site; and
• Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations, including those of World Sailing and relevant national authorities.
We do not use personal information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects, and we do not sell personal information to third parties.
5. Cookies and Analytics
The Site uses cookies and similar technologies for a few limited purposes: to keep the Site running correctly (essential cookies), to remember basic preferences, and to understand how visitors use the Site so we can improve it (analytics cookies, via Google Analytics). Google Analytics collects information such as pages visited and general location on an aggregated basis; we do not use it to identify individual visitors personally. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time; blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the Site function. Where a form uses spam-protection tools (such as Google reCAPTCHA), that tool may also set its own cookies, governed by Google’s own privacy policy.
6. How We Share Information
We do not sell or rent personal information. We may share information in the following limited circumstances:
• With service providers who help us operate the Site and our forms (for example, our website hosting provider, form and email delivery services, and analytics providers), who are only permitted to use the information to provide services to us;
• With World Sailing, national class associations, event organizers, race officials, and measurers, where necessary for class administration, event entry, results, or equipment certification;
• Publicly, where information is inherently public to the sport, such as published results, entry lists, and news coverage of events; and
• Where required to do so by law, regulation, or valid legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Class, our members, or others.
7. Data Retention
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy — for example, for as long as you remain a member or subscriber, for the historical record of class results and championships, or as needed to meet legal, accounting, or class-governance requirements. Historical regatta results and championship records are kept indefinitely as part of the sport’s public sporting record.
8. Children’s Privacy
Junior sailors compete in 49er Class events, and information such as a junior sailor’s name, sail number, club, or results may appear on the Site as part of normal event administration and results publication, generally submitted by a parent, guardian, coach, or team official rather than the junior sailor directly. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through open Site forms without the involvement of a parent, guardian, or responsible adult. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information directly and inappropriately, please contact us and we will address it.
9. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal information, which can include the right to ask us what information we hold about you, to correct inaccurate information, to request deletion, to object to or restrict certain uses, or to ask for a copy of your information. You can also unsubscribe from any newsletter at any time using the link in the email or by contacting us. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at 9erinc@49er.org, and we will respond within a reasonable time. Please note that some information, such as historical results, may be retained as part of the official sporting record even after other information is deleted.
10. International Data Transfers
The Class has members, sailors, and volunteers around the world, and the service providers we use to run the Site (such as hosting and analytics) may process information in countries other than your own. Where this occurs, we expect our service providers to apply appropriate safeguards consistent with applicable data protection law.
11. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access. However, no website or online transmission can be guaranteed completely secure, and we cannot promise that information you submit will never be accessed by an unauthorized party.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in how the Site works or in applicable law. We will update the effective date below when we do. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Effective date: 20 July 2026.
13. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact the International 49er Class Association at 9erinc@49er.org.