International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Nominated Expert Tom Wilson delivered a weeklong training course that aimed to help existing experienced sailors develop the techniques required to coach sailing within their club, region or country.
Dan Jaspers, ISAF Training and Development Manager said of the training, “This is the first Course of its kind that Fiji has hosted and we are very glad for the support and feedback of the Fiji Yachting Association. We will no doubt see the Fiji Yachting Association be able to further grow sailing at all levels in Fiji.”
All about balance & teamwork!
Funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) the 8 participants, bringing with them a variety of existing knowledge and experience were nominated by The Fiji Yachting Association. The course was held at The National Sailing Centre – home of the Hobie Cat 16 fleet – located at Beach Road, Suva Point.
“The course was excellent. The ISAF Expert was talented, skilful, motivated and inspiring. I was a pleasure to interact with someone at this level. I didn’t think it was possible to learn so much”, commented one of the participants.
Theory session
Candidates were put through a number of both on and off-water activities, all designed to teach a range of ways to deliver sessions to both young rookie sailors and adults looking to learn the sport. These newly learned skills were put to practice on the lucky students from a local school that thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
ISAF Nominated Expert Tom Wilson said “Fiji has an opportunity now to create a national structure that will make a huge difference to the retention of sailors from all of the islands.”
ISAF Course Participants 2013
John Philp, Fiji Yachting Association (FYA) added, “We now see how the ISAF Training and Development program fits into the jigsaw puzzle of developing sailing in Emerging Nations and how we can then link with the developed sailing nations.” He continued, “The pathways for developing sailing in nations like Fiji are being made that much more clear with ISAF’s support and the IOC Olympic Solidarity funding. We are excited about the future of sailing in our country and our region.”
We are too John! Be sure to stay tuned to FijiMarinas.com for everything you need to know about sailing in Fiji.
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