ISAF Race Management Clinic June 2009
During the 1st Asian Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, in October 2008, I met two men from the Democratic People's Republic Korea, DPRK (aka North Korea). They were most interested to learn about the Games and about International sailing. We continued to communicate after the event and eventually they requested an ISAF Race Management Clinic. DPRK had been out of the fold for 10 years but rejoined ISAF in 2008.
Getting a Visa to North Korea is not easy but when they are inviting you, things run more smoothly. Australia does not have a DPRK Consulate so I needed to stop in Hong Kong on the way to pick up my pre-arranged Visa.
One can only fly into the capital Pyongyang via Beijing. China is the only Country from which DPRK will allow flights. I had a most enjoyable time in Pyongyang in the company of some wonderful, interesting and intelligent people who possessed an enthusiasm to learn. I am writing an article on my experiences but for now am restricted to comments on the Race management Clinic.
On day one I was taken to the Ice rink and National team training centre. The lecture room was very wide but only three rows deep and that is not ideal. There were 30 participants made up of the Secretary General, five managers, eight coaches/race committee members and 16 sailors, all wanting to improve their race officials skills. None spoke any English and so my translator was kept busy. It is often difficult to quickly establish the standards of participants in a clinic and more so when they don't speak any English and are culturally shy and wanting to show respect to the instructor. By mid morning it was obvious that they had never had any external and formal training in race management. Most participants find the first session of our clinic to be hard going and possibly a little dull. However after morning tea, consisting of a glass of water, we managed to liven up proceedings. After lunch with the introduction of flags, discussion of courses etc, the class became quite lively. I was surprised that few understood Charts or Latitude and Longitude. I started with the 38th parallel, which they all know about and quickly explained how the system works. Most were not sure of the simple compass and were stressed by compass reciprocals, course axis, compass bearings etc. Despite some small difficulties, I gave them chart and compass homework. We started day two of the course with a few small maths questions on the compass and they were now well on top of that subject. All else went well during the course as I pitched the level at their standard. The learning curve was vertical but they climbed it well.
Separately to the ISAF Clinic, the Secretary General of DPR Korea Yacht Racing Association, Mr Kim Song Il, had asked me to run a rules talk and discuss all other matters relating to sailboat racing, coaching, management, International events etc. After two successful days of Race Management, we all returned on day three and four, initially to do the Racing Rules lecture. Now they were alive and interacting as one would expect of sailors who had a reasonable understanding of the Racing Rules of Sailing. Later in the day and next day we discussed all the other matters requested by their Association. They were one of the most enthusiastic groups that I have had the pleasure to work with. DPRK will send a team to the Asian Sailing Championships and then the Asian Games, both in China 2010.
The experience in DPR Korea was like no other in my life and I felt honoured to have gone to Pyongyang and to have met such interesting people who aspire to the similar things in life that we treasure.
Best wishes
Mark
