PSA re-instated as an ILCA builder
On Thursday, 30 th October 2025, the High Court of New Zealand made orders that, pending further order of the Court, ILCA:
- May not take any steps to implement its purported termination of its agreement with PSA; and
- Must reinstate PSA to its list of Approved Builders.
The Court also directed ILCA to publish the following statement:
Approval of Performance Sailcraft Australia reinstated
Pending a Court’s final decision on the International Laser Class Association’s (ILCA) 27 August 2025 termination of its 9 April 2024 agreement with Performance Sailcraft Australia (PSA), the Court has prohibited ILCA from taking any steps to implement that termination. Pending that decision, PSA continues as an ILCA-approved Builder under the ILCA Class Rules. ILCA’s 28 August 2025 announcement to the contrary is to be disregarded.
PSA is pleased to have been reinstated as an Approved Builder. It has been building laser and ILCA dinghies using moulds and tooling approved by the designer Bruce Kirby since 1998. PSA upholds the one-class design principle that is so important to Laser-class racing by making dinghies that are identical to the original design, and which powered Ben Ainslie to gold in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. PSA remains extremely concerned about ILCA’s conduct, including its attempt to prevent PSA from continuing as an Approved Builder, and intends to vigorously pursue legal action against ILCA to vindicate these rights.
