Putting Canadian Sailors on the Podium

Kingston, ON (December 18, 2015) – The Sail Canada Board has completed the preliminary phase of implementation of a number of recommendations contained in the High Performance report commissioned by Sail Canada earlier this year.

This phase began with the appointment of Peter Hall, multiple Soling World Champion and ISAF Council member, as chair of the newly constituted Board-reporting High Performance Committee.

Since his appointment just two months ago, Peter has reached out across the country and to international contacts to determine best practice in successful nations and has prepared a preliminary plan with input and support from the Canadian sailing community.

The members of the High Performance Committee under Peter’s chairmanship are; Todd Irving, President Sail Canada, 2008 Olympian Oskar Johansson, John Craig, Principal Race Officer of the 34th America’s Cup and former ISAF Sailing World Cup Manager and 1998 and 1992 Olympian Phil Gow.

The plan recognizes the need for a full time High Performance Director, as current HPD Ken Dool combines the role with coaching, and the recruitment process will commence in January.

The Sail Canada Board has committed to funding Sail Canada’s High Performance objectives, both from internal and external resources. Sail Canada has established a fund-raising group, with John Curtis as chair, alongside Board members Kai Bjorn, Richard Ballantyne, and Karen McRae.

Sail Canada President, Todd Irving, noted the Board’s strong commitment to putting Canadian sailors on the podium, “The Board is pleased to move forward on the plan for high performance sailing in Canada. With support from Canada’s sporting and sailing community and the backing of Sport Canada through Own the Podium, we look forward to developing a strong performance pathway for Canadian sailing athletes, making podium results a reality.”

Source: Sail Canada