One of the highlights of the Australian Sailing calendar is its annual club conference. The 2019 conference was held last Saturday at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. This all-day meeting brings together the representatives of our peak body, the thought leaders of our sport and numerous officials from the local Victorian yacht clubs. The conference provides a forum where Australian Sailing can highlight emerging trends in our sport and also showcase new initiatives.
In that regard, one of Australian Sailing’s exciting initiatives is the rebranding of its long-running Woman and Girls in Sailing strategy to ‘SheSails’. The strategy has been reinvigorated with additional grant funding and the stepping up of dynamic new leaders to drive the process, such as our very own Amanda Jacobs.
Amanda delivered an inspiring and thoughtful presentation discussing the recent ‘She Leads’ pilot workshop conducted at BYS, which is now available to any club to implement. The aim of these workshops is to improve gender equity and participation within yacht clubs by highlighting emerging female talent and providing those individuals with tools to take their participation in their clubs to the next level.
As the third-largest yacht club in Victoria, it’s gratifying to see that BYS is taking the lead in this area and various other important sailing initiatives.
Congratulations Amanda.
