Department updates in Main Vaulting

We would like to remind you that the next FEI Vaulting Seminar will be organised in Saumur (FRA) from 18-20 October 2024. The Seminar is open to all FEI Vaulting Judges, Stewards and NF Representatives (max. 2 per nation). The agenda will be available shortly on the Vaulting Forums/Seminars hub.

For registration, participants have to be enrolled by their NF directly in the FEI Course Calendar. Please note that the application deadline is 31 August 2024.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the FEI Vaulting Department.

We invite you to share this information with the Vaulting Community in your country.

The FEI will launch the "Be a Guardian" initiative today, calling on community members to embrace their roles as guardians of FEI horses. A full press release will be issued shortly and can be found here.

The ‘Be a Guardian’ initiative represents a significant shift in the FEI's approach to equine care, emphasising the importance of horse welfare.

Based on the concept of guardianship, the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission created a comprehensive document highlighting six priority areas and 30 recommendations to improve the welfare of sport horses.

The FEI has since developed an Equine Welfare Strategy Action Plan to address the priorities identified by the Commission.

Supported by a CHF 1 million allocation approved by the FEI Board in June 2024, this plan aims to enhance the wellbeing of FEI horses through robust rules, guidelines, educational programmes, and various initiatives.

The goal is to respect the natural needs of horses in international equestrian sports, fostering a global commitment to equine welfare and ensuring that horses receive the care and respect they deserve.

We urge our National Federations to embrace this call to action, actively promote this shift in perspective, and recognise the responsibility we all share in being the guardians of our beloved horses. 

As you are aware, the FEI is committed to raising awareness among NFs and Stakeholders on the importance of Safeguarding and to provide key tools to NFs that have yet to take action on this delicate but crucial topic.

Below, please find several useful tools and sources of information in relation to Safeguarding:

FEI Safeguarding webinar for NFs, 23 May 2024 – Recordings available
The recordings of the FEI Safeguarding webinar for NFs are now available and can be accessed in the Harassment and Abuse section on Inside.FEI.org.

The webinar provided practical guidance to NFs on the following topics: 

• Appointment of a Safeguarding Lead/Safeguarding Officer
• Policy development, including use of the FEI templates (please see attached the templates)
• Policy implementation

The webinar followed on from the FEI Sports Forum 2024 Safeguarding presentation, of which you can watch the replay here.

Please send any questions, feedback, and suggestions for future webinar topics you may have to safeguarding@fei.org. We welcome your input.

 

Safeguarding Policy and Report Form templates for NFs

The templates referred to in the FEI Safeguarding webinar are currently available in English and Spanish can be accessed in the Harassment and Abuse section on Inside.FEI.org.

 

FEI Safeguarding initiative at the FEI Vaulting Championships, Bern (SUI)

The FEI will be running a Safeguarding initiative on Tuesday 16 July 2024, at the FEI World Vaulting Championships in Bern to raise awareness among the equestrian community on the importance of Safeguarding.  The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness and provide guidance as to what each one of us can do to ensure a safe environment for everyone involved in equestrian sport.

 

The initiative will be comprised of two activities:

• An interactive presentation/workshop for Chefs d’Equipe, Coaches, Trainers, Lungers, Support Personnel and all FEI Officials from10h30-11h30 in the Media Room.
• A Safeguarding booth for athletes, grooms and support personnel from 12h – 15h by the canteen.

 

Please inform and encourage everyone attending the FEI World Vaulting Championships from your NF to participate in this important initiative.

If you have any questions, please contact safeguarding@fei.org.

We thank you in advance for your collaboration.

The Rules Revision Process 2024 is well underway with the first draft of the proposed changes now available to National Federations and Stakeholders for review and feedback by 21 August 2024 prior to being submitted to the FEI General Assembly for approval in November as per the timeline below: 
1 March 2024
National Federations and Stakeholders with whom the FEI has signed an MOU have the opportunity to propose Rules changes as per the FEI Periodical Rules Revision Policy.
26 June 2024
The FEI provides National Federations and Stakeholders with the first Draft of proposed Rules changes.

IMPORTANT
The 1st Draft of proposed Rules changes Memos as well as the Templates to provide feedback by 21 August 2024 can be found here. ONLY proposals submitted online on the Rules Revision Platform using the respective Templates will be accepted.
21 August 2024
National Federations and Stakeholders are given eight weeks to review the first Draft and the proposed amendments in this first Draft and make comments and/or propose any changes in relation to the first Draft.
16 October 2024
Final Draft of the proposed Rules changes is provided to National Federations and Stakeholders.                                                                                  
12 November 2024
Rules Session at FEI General Assembly.
13 November 2024
Voting of Rules at the FEI General Assembly.

For more information on the FEI Rules Revision processes and timelines, click here.

If you have any questions please contact the FEI Director Governance & Institutional Affairs at Francisco.lima@fei.org.

We are pleased to inform you that the FEI Vaulting Seminar 2024 will be organised in Saumur (FRA) from 18 - 20 October.

The Seminar is open to all FEI Vaulting Judges, Stewards and NF Representatives (max. 2 per NF). NFs should enrol their participants directly through the FEI Course Calendar. Please note that the application deadline is 30 August 2024 and registrations are limited to 50 participants.

The detailed programme of the Seminar will be communicated at a later stage.

If you have any questions, please contact the FEI Vaulting Department.

We look forward to seeing you on this occasion.

The FEI Sports and Veterinary Departments would like to draw your attention to the application deadline to host FEI Transfer Up or CES (FEI Competency-based Evaluation System) Maintenance Courses in 2025.

We kindly ask you to download the relevant application and budget forms, which can be accessed via the links provided below, and to send them to the FEI via the corresponding email address also provided below, no later than 31 July 2024.

Discipline/Department	Email	Documents
Jumping	jumpingofficials@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/officials/jumping/forms
Dressage	anna.milne@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/officials/dressage/organise-course
Para Dressage	thya.moritz@fei.org	/fei/your-role/officials/para-dressage/ped-organise-course
Eventing	eventingofficials@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/officials/eventing/forms
Driving & Para	driving@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/officials/driving/course-organisation
Endurance	endurance@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/officials/endurance/organise-a-course
Vaulting	vaultingofficials@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/officials/vaulting/organise-course
Veterinary	veterinary@fei.org	https://inside.fei.org/fei/your-role/veterinarians/education/organise-a-course

Should you have any questions regarding the administration of our courses, please contact the relevant FEI Discipline or Veterinary Department who will be able to assist you.

As we prepare for the Vaulting Championships 2024, we would like to inform you of several important updates and requirements.

Certificates of Capability
If you have not yet completed the Certificate of Capability, please use the updated template available on the FEI Vaulting Main Events webpage on Inside.FEI.org. This document has been revised to highlight the new qualification requirements for Squads and Horses. For detailed information on the Qualification Criteria, please refer to the Vaulting Qualification criteria 2024.

Squad Qualification Criteria
Additionally, please also take note of the following important information regarding the new Squad Qualification Criteria:

• It is the National Federation’s responsibility to ensure that the Squad meets the minimum qualification criteria on the day of the competition. For instance, if only four athletes on the nominated entries list meet the qualification requirements and the reserve squad athletes do not, the squad will not be allowed to participate if one of the qualified members is unable to compete, as only three members would then meet the qualification criteria.

Deadlines for the FEI Vaulting World Championship for Seniors and the FEI Vaulting European Championships for Young Vaulters and Juniors
Nominated Entries Deadline: 17 June
Definite Entries Deadline: 1 July

All documents must be sent to the FEI Vaulting Department by the nominated entry date.

Should you have any questions or require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the FEI Vaulting Department.

Please be informed that the next update of the FEI Tack, Equipment & Dress Database (FEI Tack App) will be released after the Easter holidays, on 8 April 2024.

Further to feedback received from numerous Athletes and Officials, who are seeking clarity regarding the use of tack and equipment during the Olympic & Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, the FEI agreed that this would be the last update of the FEI Tack App prior to the Games. The temporary pause of updates to the FEI Tack App will be applied to all FEI Disciplines, including non-Olympic Disciplines.

Following the conclusion of the Olympic & Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, the updates shall resume on every first Monday of the month, as per the usual process.

We would like to remind the Vaulting Community that as per Article 703 of the FEI Vaulting rules 2024; new qualification requirements for the FEI Vaulting Championships* 2024 are in place for Squads and Horses:

1. Qualification for FEI Championships - National Federations will be responsible for ensuring that their Individual Vaulters, Pas de-Deux Vaulters, Squad Vaulters and Horses meet the qualification requirements as laid down below. Certificates of Capability, providing proof of qualification results must be sent by each NF to reach the FEI no later than the closing date for Nominated Entries.

*Please find here, the Vaulting Qualification criteria 2024.

The Technology and Sport Services department is currently working on the integration of these requirements directly into the FEI Database. However, until this integration has been completed, we advise all athletes and Organising Committees to keep a copy of each of their results as proof of qualification may be requested by the FEI.

The Vaulting department will keep you updated as soon as further implementation details are available.

In order to streamline and enhance the processing of sport nationality change by the FEI, a new Application Form for Athletes aged over 18 years, is now available on Inside.FEI.org/Sport Nationality. When filled out accurately, this Application Form will enable the FEI to process requests more efficiently by:

• Reducing the email correspondence regarding the Sport Nationality application,
• Allowing the applying National Federation to identify and provide from the outset the necessary supporting documents; and
• Allowing the FEI to identify all regulatory implications of the sport nationality change for the Athlete and inform the applying National Federation accordingly.

The Sport Nationality Form includes detailed instructions. It can be filled out and signed electronically. It can also be printed, filled in by hand, and scanned before sharing with the FEI. 

Kindly ensure that going forward all Sport Nationality applications for Athletes aged over 18 years will be submitted to the FEI using this form. Incomplete, unsigned and/or undocumented applications will not be processed by the FEI.