The first day of the FEI Online Sports Forum concluded on Tuesday 1st of June, and a video replay, summaries, as well as supporting documents can be viewed here.

The second session of the day focused on the revision of the FEI Jumping Rules, and a summary from the FEI reads:

“As the FEI Jumping Rules are undergoing a full revision in 2021 as part of the quadrennial Rules Revision policy, the day’s second session focused on the proposed modifications to the FEI Jumping Rules to be presented to the FEI General Assembly 2021 in November and, subject to approval by the National Federations, will be implemented on 1 January 2022.

FEI Jumping Committee Chair Stephan Ellenbruch provided an overview of the proposed changes put forward by National Federations and stakeholders with whom the FEI has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Proposals centered around an adjustment to time penalties, reimbursement to Organising Committees for Athlete no-shows at Events, judging levels at CSI05* and lower level events, changes to the CSI Invitation Rules, and Certificates of Capability for CSI 5* Events.

Key proposals from the FEI and the FEI Jumping Committee included changes to the starting numbers as well as qualification and eligibility requirements for Grand Prix competitions, a standardisation of formats for all Senior, Youth & Junior Nations Cups, and a harmonisation of the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs) for the Olympic Games, World and Continental Jumping Championships.”

“In the Q&A session that followed, Robert Ridland, USA Show Jumping Chef d'Equipe and Technical Advisor, cautioned against changing rules that affect the quality of the sport. In particular he highlighted that seeding for a Grand Prix based on merit is good for the sport, organisers and the quality of competition. He also spoke strongly in favour of promoting the Nations Cup series and Championships.

Gerald Kuh from Hong Kong requested the FEI to take another look at the proposal to harmonise the qualification procedures for the Olympic Games, World and Continental Championships in Annex 8 to the FEI Jumping Rules. He stated that the qualifying criteria would surpass the level of Continental Championships outside Europe, making it difficult for a sufficient number of qualified athletes to participate. This would be detrimental to the development of the sport in some continents.

Based on the feedback from the session, and ongoing consultation with the community, the FEI will prepare and publish the first draft of the proposed Jumping Rule changes on 12 July 2021. National Federations and MOU stakeholders will then have seven weeks to review the first draft to make comments and/or propose any changes, prior to the publication of the final draft on 17 October which will be put to vote at the FEI General Assembly in November.”

The presentation on the Jumping Rules revision is available here, and the supporting documents here. 

The first session focused on updates on the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and included discussions on the latest climate mitigation measures for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games, Clean Sport Regulations as well as key logistical arrangements in place to meet Covid-19 requirements. Click here for the summary.

The Sports Forum continued today, Wednesday 2 June 2021 at 12:00 CEST, with a session on grooms, followed by discussions on the vaulting and driving rules. Updates will follow.