The 2020 Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place November 13-14 via Zoom.
The group unanimously re-elected President Alison Sly-Adams to serve her third term. Fellow board members Michele Korteweg of St. Maarten, Karen Stiell of Grenada, Pat Bailey of the United States Virgin Islands, and Jaime Torres of Puerto Rico will continue to serve. Joining them as new members are Tamsin Rand of the British Virgin Islands and Brian Sylvester of Grenada.
Members from 17 countries attended the AGM from Trinidad and Tobago in the South to Puerto Rico in the North.
“Although our organization was formed to create the CSA rating rule to ensure we can deliver fair racing in the Caribbean, which to this day, remains the heart of the association, our role grows every season,” said Sly-Adams.
“This year we continue to focus on supporting an increase in participation in the sport at the grassroots level. The CSA offers a forum for regattas, yachts clubs, sailing programmes, and member national authorities to work together on specific programmes to do this.”
The region is supporting two World Sailing initiatives in particular: a) gender equality, and b) using virtual eSailing as a pathway into the sport.
The members agreed to support the new World Sailing event Steering the Course, which will deliver a Festival of Sailing showcasing women role models sailing right across the region. A separate presentation on Virtual Regatta, World Sailing’s virtual sailing platform, was presented by Mark Over, Commercial Director of World Sailing.
Day two of the conference focused on the challenging environment for the upcoming season regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The region’s Organizing Authorities are committed to continue working together to simplify procedures, communication and protocols for competitors this coming season.
The OAs present all confirmed their intent to produce exciting racing in fantastic Caribbean conditions, albeit with modifications as required by their local governments. For the 2021-25 Caribbean Racing calendar, click here.
Published on November 18th, 2020
