Growing the sport in the Middle East

As the world governing body for the sport of sailing, it is a priority for World Sailing to develop and promote the sport internationally. While the Middle East is often in the news for the wrong reasons, World Sailing is helping to support the development of competitive sailing within the region.

The first of the two workshops was held in Aqaba, Jordan, where nine participants – six men and three women – completed a Technical Course for Coaches Level 1 led by World Sailing Coach Developer Mohamed Gamal (Egypt).

The focus was on ensuring all participants left with the ability to teach a beginner to sail, students will then be able to assess the weather report, assess the conditions, rig, launch, sail their boat in any direction and return to the place they started from safely in 5-15 knots of wind.

Organized with support from the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity fund and in cooperation with The Royal Jordanian Marine Sports Federation, the course aims to develop the framework necessary to teach more people in Jordan to sail and help the sport to grow.

Continuing to develop female race officials as part of World Sailing’s plan to support women in sailing, the international federation also held the first all-female Race Management Clinic in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in cooperation with the UAE Sailing and Rowing Federation at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club in Jumeirah.

The clinic was conducted by Pınar Coskuner Genç (Turkey), an International Race Officer who served as the Principal Race Officer at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, alongside International Race Officer Becky Ashburn (USA). It brought together 20 women from Algeria, Greece, Iran, Morocco, the UAE, and the United Kingdom.

Participants learned how the theory behind race management, practicalities and rules of hosting a regatta, and had the opportunity to test this knowledge on the water with the goal of strengthening female representation at high-level sailing competitions in the future, including the World Sailing Championships and the Olympic Games. The clinic also included the new Level 0 online program alongside Level 1.

“This is a new project for World Sailing, and it is exciting to hold the first all-women’s race management clinic in the Middle East,” explained Ashburn. “We have a range of coaches, sailors and interested volunteers who want to be part of race management. We have been spending time in the classroom learning theories, practicalities and rules, and then on the water testing what we have learned about how to set good race courses and host good regattas.”

Both the Royal Jordanian Marine Sports Federation and UAE Sailing and Rowing Federation aim to build on the success of both sessions and support further growth, A Level 2 Race Coach Course is planned in Jordan in 2025 while the UAE hopes to host a Judging Clinic and Coaching courses.

Source: World Sailing