US SAILING National Leadership Forum By Jabbo Gordon Photos courtesy Matthew Cohen Photography
Branding expert Ron Tite making the keynote presentation at the Forum.
The wrap-up cocktail reception and Sunsail raffle on Saturday.
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interested and not losing any more to other sports. Other age-old situations revolved around personnel turnover, program consistency, approaches that work, lack of communications, parents, different visions for the future by the host club, its board of directors, the coach, or the sailors themselves. For instance, competition (read racing) is often key to a successful program, but how much of it should a program have? One of the many highlights was US Sailing’s demonstration showing how the organization itself has been changing and how some of its programs have been shifting emphasis. For example, the headquarters moved from Portsmouth, RI, down to Bristol. Meanwhile, the organization has been restructured. There have been staff and title changes. For instance, Stu Gilfillen, who used to run Sarasota’s Youth Sailing Program, is no longer the training director. He is the education director. However, not all of the changes are limited to name changes or semantics. In the last several years, as an example, there has been a noticeable shift away from the so-called yacht club syndrome. Much more emphasis is placed on community sailing programs, mainly because they can attract more people. As with most organizations in the world, growth is the key word. Some yacht clubs have recognized this trend and have started to work together, hoping that collaboration—instead of competition—among clubs will make them stronger. Four people from the Chicago area formed a panel that presented a picture of how cooperation among area clubs would benefit everyone. Janet Baxter, a former president of US Sailing, served as moderator. Key people in a couple of Chicago clubs recognized some approaching headwinds back when the nation was
t wasn’t an attendance record, but 532 people attended US Sailing’s national leadership forum at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Petersburg, FL, on Feb. 1-3, and that number certainly ranked in the top five of forums, symposiums and related sessions held in the history of sailing’s national governing body. Of that total, 156 individuals (almost a third) were on their maiden voyage. Most had heard of the event and had wanted to visit but never had been able to attend. They were not disappointed. Many were overwhelmed with the wealth of information—most of which they could take home—garnered from keynote speakers and breakout session presenters or panel members, as well as their conversations with other sailing-minded colleagues, most of whom were old hands at these events. While only a handful of folks have attended every one of these events since their inception, this was not the first rodeo for a majority of the crowd. And there were several sailing enthusiasts who were revisiting the annual event after a few years absence. Nan Walker of Annapolis, who used to run US Sailing’s sailing center in Martin County (Florida)—back when it was a trailer on a causeway—was one. To many repeat attendees, it was the same old song— second, third or fill in the blank verse. Topics covered many areas that have been cussed and discussed over the years. People, especially the newcomers, come looking for answers. And the answers are basically the same although there were a few tweaks. For the most part, it was just a different person saying it in a different venue. It was the first forum for Ned Covel who has recently taken over the youth sailing program that covers Indian Rocks Beach and Clearwater, just a few miles up the road from this year’s site. His concerns included keeping the kids
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March 2018
SOUTHWINDS
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