Opportunity to develop the sport

The World Sailing Training Scholarship wrapped up after seven weeks in Weymouth, England with candidates excited to return home and begin developing projects within their MNAs (Member National Authority).

During the course, candidates took part in a series of modules, including Keelboats, First Aid, Running a Training Centre, and the Level 1, 2 and 3 Technical Courses for Coaches, to give them a well-rounded view of running a National Training Program within a Federation.

This year’s attendees featured eight male coaches and one female coach representing Barbados, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Peru and Slovakia.

Each candidate was able to work on a project that they will implement in their MNA to further develop sailing when they return home.

Projects included:
– Developing coach mentoring programs and continuous professional development schemes
– Running structured coach and instructor courses
– Standardizing training schemes across a federation
– Expanding recreational sailing opportunities
– Expanding co-operation between sailing clubs

Koray Ezer, World Sailing’s Head of International Development, said, “It was fantastic to see the scholarship back in action with eight high quality attendees from around the world and this wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and funding from Olympic Solidarity. We hope the attendees now feel equipped to return to their countries and continue developing sailing with the skills they have learned.”

Rob Holden, World Sailing Training Delivery Manager, said, “The 2022 Scholarship again showed the value of the program with all eight candidates putting together very good development plans for their countries.

“The mix of candidates was interesting and included countries with well-developed performance pathways and those with limited pathways for recreational and grassroots sailing, as well as countries with small recreational based programs. Each candidate identified the main area they believed should be developed and built their plans around this.

“I was very impressed with how the group developed throughout the course, with each one identifying areas they needed to work on personally and for their country. If the MNAs work with them and allow them to grow the MNA, we will see an exciting legacy coming from the 2022 cohort.”

Rodrigo Colorado, President of the El Salvador Sailing Federation, commented, “The World Sailing Training Scholarship has given me all the insights I needed to know to develop and direct our National Sailing Federation. The process and methods showed throughout the course was well thought out, clear and helpful.

“The course teaches you sailing in many different aspects, starting from safety, having fun, properly learning how to sail and the performance path. I am already using many of the techniques and I am confident we are moving in the right direction to make sailors for life.”

Candidate Viktor Brousis from Greece, added, “I returned to my country with a refreshed view of teaching sailing and with many tools that I will hopefully put to good use so that sailing will grow as a sport in Greece.”

World Sailing will continue to support and work with candidates to help bring these projects to life and develop sailing in each MNA. For more information about the World Sailing Training Scholarship program, click here.

Source: World Sailing