I don't know that there were any founders, per se, of the A-Class. Back in the late 1950's, when catamarans were first making an appearance on the racing scene, and when there were many different sizes and varieties, the International Yacht Racing Union created the A Class, B Class, C Class and D Class as rough divisions in which these various catamarans could race (just basic stuff like maximum length, width, and sail area). I'm sure IYRU probably got input from the existing cat sailors before delineating the four Classes.

As far as I know, the A Class rules still maintain the original intent of encompassing all boats that fit the maximum length, width, and sail area and the minimum weight requirement. For instance, the Hobie Wave is an A-Class cat.

So, I don't think the original idea was for the four IYRU classes to be considered "development" classes; just to have divisions that would cover all the types of catamarans.

I am told that the B Class, C Class and D Class are no longer ISAF International Classes. The A Class is the only one that has survived, because it is the only one of the original IYRU classes that has actually organized itself. Its rules and any changes to its rules have to be approved by ISAF, as with any International Class. So even if the class itself voted to include hydrofoils, that does not mean it would be approved by ISAF -- and any rule change can take years to get approval.

The "evolution" and "development" that has occurred in the A Class was due to the challenge of figuring out how to get maximum speed out of an 18-foot boat that has only 150 square feet of sail area.

Please correct me if I am wrong about any or all of this.