How Australia is growing the sport

Australian Sailing is the governing body for the sport of Sailing in Australia, with this update coming from their February Edition of Club News:

One of Australian Sailing’s key goals as per our strategic plan is to grow participation in sailing. One of the strategies to deliver on that goal is to grow initiatives to increase female participation in the sport.

On that note, we are pleased to announce that we will be launching our national female participation brand, SheSails, on International Women’s Day (March 8) this year. SheSails is designed to recognise all of the fantastic female contributors to our sport, and to mark the celebration we will be providing clubs a branding and promotional toolkit to use in promoting female participation moving forward.

The Australian Sailing board has recently been considering the role that state underpinning programs play in youth development. This initial review has highlighted a number of important issues and as a result we will be forming a working group to look at this space in more detail. The aim of the review will be to assist Australian Sailing with:

• Reviewing its State Underpinning Pathways Programs (SUPP’s) and the role the SUPP’s play in youth development;
• Identifying the most suitable way to resource and deliver youth development in order to:
– increase diversify and retain youth participation
– strengthen the role of Clubs and increase club membership;
– strengthen the role of class associations and encourage Board and Kite class participation;
– improved affordability for parents and stakeholders; and
– provide clearer pathways for talented youth sailors with State Institutes/ Academies.