World Sailing Shake-Up

From an Offshore Worlds to Virtual Sailing, there was much to emerge from this year’s World Sailing annual conference. TOBY HEPPELL reports

- Toby Heppell

The World Sailing annual conference has concluded in Mexico, with a number of interesting and progressive initiatives announced, including a virtual world championship, an offshore world championship, and some substantive discussion about gender balance within the sport.

The annual conference, which takes place in a different country each year in November, is important with various committees discussing proposals that can have ramications across the entire sport globally. But this importance, coupled with a circuitous system of committees and sub committees can also make it something of an exercise in indecision and red tape.

But whether it is the appointment of Kim Andersen as the new CEO of the organisation, a mix up of how the organisation is run, the removal of sailing from the Paralympics (and the associated threat to Olympic sailing) or some combination of factors, this year’s conference seems to have bucked the trend and made some solid progress.

CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR ALL