The International Dragon Class Management team consists of one Chairman, three Vice Chairmen, Treasurer and Secretary.
Technical matters are handled by a specialist Technical Committee which has its own Chairman.
The Chairman and Vice Chairmen are elected every two years, the Treasurer and Secretary every four.
The Secretary’s position is permanent.
The Officials of the IDA all have a common goal. To run the Class in the interests of Dragon sailors everywhere.
President
H.M. King Constantine
Vice-Presidents
H.R.H. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
Christopher Dicker
Poul Richard Høj Jensen
Chairman
Jens Rathsack
Hamburg-born Jens Rathsack started sailing at the age of 6 in the Optimist Class. Regatta sailing dominated his sailing life from that day. He went on to sail in 470s, and was a crew member of the German National Team. He later moved to Solings and Dragons, as well as participating in big boat regattas around the world, such as the Boston to Hamburg race and the Caribbean 600.Jens was involved in the dental business for more than 30 years but he now lives in Monaco. He remains a member of the NRV in Hamburg and a member of the German Dragon Fleet.He now has the time to give something back to the sport he loves and he plans to use his passion for the Dragon and his business and sailing experience to further promote the class to new generations of sailors.
Vice-Chairmen
Gérard Blanc
Gérard learned to sail at an early age in dinghies and graduated to 470s which he raced actively for many years. He began to sail Dragons in 1995 in Cannes. He is currently Chairman of the French Dragon Association, and on the board of the Yacht Club de Cannes.Apart from sailing, Gérard has wide sporting interests including skiing and biking, and acknowledges that he is very lucky to be able to enjoy the beautiful region in the south of France where he lives.He has two children, and he and his wife are kept busy with their three grand children. Since he recently retired, Gérard reckons he will have more time to work for the Dragon class!
Marc Castagnet
Vice Chairman IDA and Vice Captain of the Hong Kong Dragon AssociationI have been racing competitively since I was 15 years old. I started sailing Dragons in 1992 in Hong Kong where I crewed for Phyllis Chang until 2009.I competed in many Interport regattas with Japan, Australia, Canada, and also with Europe. I bought my own Dragon in 2010. I am Hong Kong based, but my business brings me to Europe every few weeks and I race whenever I can in Arcachon, Douarnenez and elsewhere in Europe.I look forward to the opportunity to sail more regattas, not only close to Hong Kong and in Europe but also in America and Australasia in the coming years.
Justus Kniffka
Justus started sailing together with his father from his early childhood and became an internationally active Dragon Sailor in his early twenties. He has been privileged to sail in all three Dragon crew positions throughout the years and enjoys building a strong bond with his fellow crew members.The Dragon class feels like an extended family and Justus is happy to be able to make a positive contribution as a Vice Chairman of the IDA and to engage with national secretaries and Dragon sailors from across the globe.In his professional life Justus is a shipping and general management executive. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and holds an MBA from London Business School.
Anne Vanneste (Treasurer)
Anne Vanneste replaced Kasper Harsberg as IDA Treasurer in October 2018. Anne studied Naval Architecture in Southampton and her first job was building sailing boats in a shipyard in France. She worked abroad for several years mostly in transportation and installation of oil platforms. Anne returned to Belgium in 2012 to join the family-run brewery in Bruges — De Halve Maan. Anne first set foot on a Dragon in Ostend when she was 12 years old and has sailed on all sorts of boats ranging from Hobie Cats to Mini-Transats. She was Belgian National Dragon Secretary from 2013 to 2018 and is a member of the board of the RNSYC in Ostend.