Australian Sailing WA Conferences
The Western Australian Conferences were held on the weekend of 27 and 28 July and were well supported by many members of our sailing community.
On Saturday at the Club Conference, 85 people attended representing 20 out of 41 Clubs and 2 Class Associations.
Attendees gained benefit from a range of presenters, discussing topics including injury prevention, succession planning in Clubs, insurance, dealing with committee conflict and promotion, to name a few. CEO Ben Houston made the trip West to join Regional Manager Andy Fethers and Yachting WA President Rob Rooke to share the latest on Australian Sailing. This local and national update was further bolstered later in the day, as our WA Club Services Officers delivered on revSPORT and its benefits, the exciting new OutThere Sailing program and SheSails. Stuart Walton from the SailPass working group also educated the crowd on the benefit of this new initiative.
The day concluded with attendees forming groups to firstly engage in a workshop on child safeguarding, followed by a facilitated discussion led by Diane Robertson-Smith asking ‘what do you want from Australian Sailing?’ Some great feedback was received, to be shared with the registrants soon and considered locally.
Breaks during the day allowed ample networking time, and the chance to enjoy the hospitality of the host, Royal Perth Yacht Club. A number of organisations also took the time to set-up displays, further adding to the attendees’ experience. The Department of Transport were a hit with their ’30 Second Challenge’ simulator, highlighting the ever-important message of safety and preparedness on the water. Visit the Australian Sailing WA Facebook page to view the winner of the challenge, Chris Goldacre in action!
Sunday’s Instructor Conference was also well supported, with 85 Instructors attending, representing 24 of 31 Discover Sailing Centres in WA. After receiving an update on AS matters locally and nationally, Instructors were enthralled by Ian Crawford’s Managing Conflict and Difficult People presentation. Everyone was able to take away some strategies to implement in everyday life and work, along with learning some new facts about themselves! The morning concluded like the Club Conference, with a child safeguarding workshop and facilitated discussion. The afternoon’s on-water sessions were successful, with 29 reaccreditations being completed and all Instructors practically learning and testing new skills.
The Australian Sailing WA Team thanks all attendees for supporting the Conference and the presenters who graciously gave up their time and knowledge, travelling far and wide to educate and enlighten the WA sailing community.
All presentations can be viewed on the WA Conference webpage - https://www.sailing.org.au/community/wa-2019/
