Irish Sailing Association Aims to Raise €2.75m Annually for Olympic Team

2nd February 2015

Afloat.ie Team

Irish Sailing Association Aims to Raise €2.75m Annually for Olympic Team

#irishsailingfoundation – A new Irish Sailing Association (ISA) organisation called the 'Irish Sailing Foundation (ISF)' expects to build 'philanthropic fund raised income to €2.75 million annually in support of the high performance mission and programmes'. The new organisation is seeking to recruit a Chief Executive that is 'an exceptional leader with a track record of building income' to change the funding of high performance sailing in Ireland.

The Irish Sailing Association recently published its new strategic plan and it is currently meeting sailing clubs from around the country to outline details of the plan.

After a period of controversy over association policies, the new plan outlines a vision for sailing until 2020 and confirms sailing as the third best supported sport by Irish Sports Council.

A main change proposed for the ISA in the plan is an 'emphasis on upgrading the support structures for sailors not involved in the ISA High Performance'.

The plan refers to the development of 'professional fund-raising' for its high performance team but it does not refer specifically to the set up of a new organisation nor does it refer to the 'Irish Sailing Foundation'.

As Afloat reported previously, the recruitment advertisement for the ISF's new CEO was advertised in last Friday's Irish Times and across Sunday national newspapers too. It is also posted on the association's website.

The high performance objective is to secure top 8 results for Irish sailors in the Olympic Classes at Worlds, Europeans and Olympics. To do this it focuses on identifying, supporting and coaching sailors who can succeed in Olympic competition. The advert says 'securing of significant philanthropic support and augmenting the funding provided by the Irish Sports Council will improve performance at Olympic level, increase the level of competition for those on squads and widen access and participation'.

More details and a copy of the advert for download is available here.

Published in Irish Sailing

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Irish Sailing

The Irish Sailing Association, also known as Irish Sailing, is the national governing body for sailing, powerboating and windsurfing in Ireland.

Founded in 1945 as the Irish Dinghy Racing Association, it became the Irish Yachting Association in 1964 and the Irish Sailing Association in 1992.

Irish Sailing is a Member National Authority (MNA) of World Sailing and a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The Association is governed by a volunteer board, elected by the member clubs. Policy Groups provide the link with members and stakeholders while advising the Board on specialist areas. There is a professional administration and performance staff, based at the headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Core functions include the regulation of sailing education, administering racing and selection of Irish sailors for international competition. It is the body recognised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland for nominating Irish qualified sailors to be considered for selection to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games. Irish sailors have medalled twice at the Olympics – David Wilkins and Jamie Wikinson at the 1980 games, and Annalise Murphy at the 2016 games.

The Association, through its network of clubs and centres, offers curriculum-based training in the various sailing, windsurfing and powerboating disciplines. Irish Sailing qualifications are recognised by Irish and European Authorities. Most prominent of these are the Yachtmaster and the International Certificate of Competency.

It runs the annual All-Ireland Championships (formerly the Helmsman’s Championship) for senior and junior sailors.

The Association has been led by leading lights in the sailing and business communities. These include Douglas Heard, Clayton Love Junior, John Burke and Robert Dix.

Close to 100 sailors have represented Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Membership of Irish Sailing is either by direct application or through membership of an affiliated organisation. The annual membership fee ranges from €75 for families, down to €20 for Seniors and Juniors.