A Youth Sailing Summit organized by the Caribbean Sailing Association will be held on the 17th and 18th of September at the Barbados Yacht Club. The Summit will inform all parties of what is happening in the Caribbean and hear opinions on what is successful and what is not and what the key elements are that create success, alternatives in respect of syllabi, certification, marketing, equipment usage, equipment maintenance, equipment financing to gain insights into the potentials and risks with then be reviewed. The summit intends to motivate and inspire youth sailing administrators and teachers in the Caribbean.

The concept is based upon the principle of combining resources and interests to create effective national groups of people who will encourage the development of sailing. The problem is that in almost every country in the sailing world, participation is in relative decline and the age of participants increasing. In the Caribbean the need and applicability of sailing and boating skills is increasing.

The obvious need to include boating skills in the syllabuses for youth training in the region has been ignored by public authorities in the region . The small isolated groups of enthusiasts have not met the met the larger need . The focus of most national organizations has been solely on selective programs. Our hope is to start self-supporting groups, who can share best practice and ideas, to develop this into a Caribbean movement and to have promotion and development of our sport as the top of Agenda at all levels.

To date, the conference will be welcoming islands of Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Bequia, Martinique, British Virgin Islands, Antigua, St Lucia, and Barbados. We are hoping to get many more to attend. Our special guest, Amy Goman, Program Director at Ontario Sailing, will be arriving in the island the day before the summit. Having some experience in the Caribbean, Amy will give development guidelines on different aspects of Youth Sailing and options that suit the Caribbean best and will be able to provide a valuable overview on the methodology of teaching youth sailing .

A ceremony with cocktails will open the event on Friday 16th of September and The Barbados Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports and the Barbados Olympic Association will welcome all participants. The conference will take place on Saturday 17th of September and in the morning of Sunday 18th of September. The following will make the content of the summit:

- Introduction of all participants and presentation of the activities in the different territories.

- Overview of Curriculum models, Strategies and Financing models.

- Coach development model.

- Small group meetings to develop guidelines on various aspects of Youth Sailing.

- Best practices and strategies for setting up a youth program.

For more information, please contact coordinators Cyril Lecrenay at cyril@lenstec.com or Sarah Rickwood at sarah@alpheusleisure.com

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