Celebrating Training and Development at World Sailing Gala Dinner

World Sailing, the international governing body of the sport, celebrated the continued development of the sport of sailing at a Training and Development Gala Dinner at the Museu Marítim in Barcelona, Spain on Saturday 12 November.

A major talking point at the World Sailing Annual Conference held at the Renaissance Fira Hotel has been the development within sailing to ensure a sustainable future for the sport and the Gala Dinner showcased just a sample of the work done around the world.
 
World Sailing Vice President, Gary Jobson, welcomed speakers from the Emerging Nations to talk through their experiences to celebrate the Training and Development opportunities World Sailing has to offer in their bid to grow the sport for all.
 
Neville Koop, Secretary of Fiji Federation, recently completed the World Sailing Training Scholarship and shared his experience with everyone attending the Gala Dinner with a video. The video concentrated on Koop talking through the clinic he attended in Great Britain and highlighted the skills he had learned and took back to his country to further Fijian sailing.
 
Koop said it had been ‘one of the best decisions he had made for his MNA’ and urged anyone who had the opportunity to attend to ‘drop whatever else they have going on to come.’

Talking about how the 2016 Development Symposium in Singapore had affected his countries sailing, Vice President of the Myanmar Yachting Federation, Kyaw Moe Myint, was first on stage with host Jobson.
 
In what was supposed to be a question and answer session, Myint’s effervescent and pure enthusiasm for sailing turned it in to a purely answer session as he flowed through the history of his country and its sailing past. The most important fact he wanted to get across though, was purely numbers based, and it drew one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night, “Before the symposium we had ten Opti sailors, thanks to the development symposium and the help of World Sailing, we now have over 50 in my country.”
 
Following on from Myint, President of the Federacion Argentina de Yachting, Luis Velasco was next to address the attendees outlining the expectations for Argentina, the hosts of the next Development Symposium in 2017.
 
As Velasco outlined the clinics that have, and are to be planned in Argentina ahead of the symposium, he was also keen to make an offer to everyone in attendance, “My country, my federation, we invite you all to come and train in Argentina ahead of the Youth Olympic Games. Every MNA, if you would like to come, then just give us a call and we will work it all out for you.”
 
Velasco was of course talking about the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) which is set to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018.
World Sailing Regional Development Manager, Rob Holden, joined Velasco on stage and addressed the Gala Dinner guests on plans in the lead up to the 2018 YOG and how a lasting legacy could be created.
 
Part of creating a legacy is having people to aspire to, and both Holden and Velasco talked through one obvious Argentinean man who could fit the bill, 2016 Rolex World Sailor of the Year and Rio 2016 gold medallist, Santiago Lange.
 
Velasco reminisced about the Medal Race that finally won Lange the gold and Holden spoke of how young sailors need people like Lange to aspire to as his achievements go above age and nation. Holden also spoke about the Training and Development as a whole and the challenges he and his team of Regional Development Coordinators face to get much needed information out to the emerging nations and other countries around the world.
 
Introduced with a video featuring his sailing federation and Emerging Nations Program clinic, General Secretary of the Federação Moçambicana de la Vela e Canoagem, Helio Da Rosa complimented the visual with a Q&A session with Jobson.
 
Da Rosa talked through the development of his countries sailing program and how the federation targeted schools and clubs to increase a sailing base. The tireless work of Da Rosa and the federation has been a success in growing sailing in Mozambique but Da Rosa outlined there is still a lot of work to be done with the continued help of World Sailing.
 
In what came as a surprise for Da Rosa, he was kept on stage to receive the President’s Development Award for revolutionising and inspiring his countrymen and women and those in neighbouring nations to take up the sport which was a fitting way to bring the night’s proceedings to a close. Read more about Da Rosa’s recognition here –
http://www.sailing.org/news/41234.php#.WCgcSnecb-Y

By Richard Aspland – World Sailing
 
World Sailing 2016 Annual Conference Partners

The World Sailing 2016 Annual Conference is supported by:

• FAREAST Yachts – http://www.fareastboats.com/en/home
• Bart’s Bash – http://www.bartsbash.com/
• GAC Pindar – http://www.gac.com/gac-pindar/
• Zhik – https://www.zhik.com/
• Mexico – http://www.rivieranayarit.com/
• Sarasota – http://sports.visitsarasota.org/

About World Sailing’s Annual Conference
 
World Sailing’s Annual Conference brings together up to 700 delegates every first full week of November. It is the central meeting point where the strategy of sailing is reviewed, discussed and celebrated.
 
Over the Annual Conference, participants plan for the future, make key decisions to drive the sport forward, share best practice and generate new ideas.
 
The 2016 Annual Conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain at the Hotel Renaissance Barcelona Fira from 5-13 November.

About the General Assembly
 
The General Assembly of World Sailing takes places every four years. It is on this occasion that the World Sailing Board of Directors (President and Vice-Presidents) and members of the World Sailing Council automatically retire.
 
All full World Sailing Member National Authorities (MNAs) are entitled to be represented at the General Assembly and to vote for the new President and the seven Vice-Presidents.
 
MNAs can nominate members for the World Sailing Board of Directors, Council, Committees, Sub-Committees and Commissions.
 
The next World Sailing General Assembly will take place on Sunday 13 November 2016 from 09:30 – 13:30.