CONTACT:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
jakefish@ussailing.org
(401) 683-0800
US SAILING hosted its National Sailing Programs Symposium (NSPS) in League City, Texas last week. NSPS continues to bring together over 200 program directors, school owners, instructors and industry professionals to learn and share. Attendees had the opportunity to network with colleagues, and hear directly from numerous speakers whose expertise will help them improve their sailing programs. Celebrating its 27th anniversary, the five-day symposium was held at the South Shore Resort and Marina, and was presented by LaserPerformance.
A Few Highlights:
- This year’s list of speakers at NSPS included a number of noteworthy professionals, such as Dean Brenner, US SAILING's Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman and president of the Latimer Group; Nick Hayes, author of “Saving Sailing”; Margaret Podlich, vice president of government affairs for Boat U.S.; and Flora Sanchez, senior trainer of the Search Institute, an organization that developed the study, “The 41 Developmental Assets of Youth.”
- BicSport offered two complimentary loaner fleets for the 2010 season to the winners of an essay contest. The winners were - Texas Corinthian Yacht Club and Charleston Community Sailing.
- US SAILING’s Training Committee and Community Sailing Council honored the following recipients
of several major national awards and community sailing accolades:Marty Luray Award
Diane Wenzel, Westwind Sailing, Dana Point, CA
Outstanding Director of a New Program
Warren Goercke, Sayville Yacht Club, Blue Point, NY
Outstanding Director of a Year-Round Program
Ed Neubauer, Redondo Beach Park & Recreation Sailing, Redondo Beach, CA
Outstanding Director of a Seasonal Program
Rob Knecht, Duxbury Bay Maritime School, Duxbury, MA
Excellence in Instruction
Ross Shedden, Beverly Yacht Club, Marion, MA
Outstanding Contributions to the Development of Community Sailing
Connie Smales, Hawaii Youth Sailing Association, Honolulu, HI
Outstanding Outreach and Inclusion
Diversification Sailing Program, Chicago, IL
Outstanding Seasonal Program
Manchester Sailing Association, Manchester, MA
Outstanding New Program
North Carolina Community Sailing & Rowing, Huntersville, NC
More than 10 Years of Hallmark Performance
Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, Milwaukee, WI
Outstanding Program for Disabled Sailors
Piers Park Sailing Center, Boston, MA
Outstanding Leadership
Morgan Collins, Sail SandPoint, Seattle, WA
Please click on the following link to submit a nomination for the 2010 Training and Community Sailing Awards: http://training.ussailing.org/ProgramMgmt/Awards.htm
About the National Sailing Programs Symposium
First created in 1983 and held annually since, US SAILING’s National Sailing Programs Symposium has, over the years, brought together thousands of sailing program organizers. Presented by LaserPerformance, this Symposium is an outstanding event for any sailing program organizer, with numerous educational seminars and workshops on the agenda. The purpose of this annual Symposium is for participants to network with other organizers and to share ideas on what it takes to run a successful sailing program.
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
About LaserPerformance
LaserPerformance formally Vanguard Sailboats has a long history of providing benefits and support to US SAILING, its members, events, and programs. Today, LaserPerformance has the role of official sponsor of the US Youth Championships, the U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship, the U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship, the U.S. Singlehanded Sailing Championship, the U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships, and the U.S. Team Racing Championship. LaserPerformance's commitment to supplying the boats and support for these events is what helps to ensure high caliber competition at these Championships. Many of the world's most popular dinghies are built by LaserPerformance. Boats being supplied to US SAILING Championships are the Laser, the Laser Radial, and the Vanguard 15. For more information on LaserPerformance, call 401-683-0960 or visit their web site at www.laserperformance.com.