Issue date
The Laser class has undergone a facelift following a commercial dispute and will now be known as the ILCA.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the popular dinghy, and it’s estimated 220,000 have been built around the world. The introduction of new rigs, including the Radial and 4.7, have widened its appeal and it’s still the choice of boat for the single-handed dinghy used at the Olympics.
A recent commercial dispute between the owner of the Laser trademarks in most of the world, excluding Oceania, and the international class and World Sailing was unresolvable.
This has seen the international class change their sail logo and rig identifications and while the problem did not apply directly to New Zealand, the New Zealand Laser Association chose to move with the rest of the world and change to the new logo and naming conventions.
The class is moving to a new sail logo, outlined below:
New naming convention Previous naming convention
| ILCA 7 | Laser Standard |
| ILCA 6 | Laser Radial |
| ILCA 4 | Laser 4.7 |
| ILCA 7 Masters | Laser Standard Masters |
| ILCA 6 Masters | Laser Radial Masters |
“There is absolutely no need to change any existing class legal equipment but all class legal sails and equipment sold from now on and all future official class correspondence will use the new logo and conventions,” the New Zealand Laser Association chairman Nick Page wrote on their website. “It’s only a name and logo change. There is no change to the boats. It’s still the boat we all know and love.”
