General Manager - Queensland Update June 2026

2026 Queensland Sailing Summit 

We have just held the 2026 Sailing Summit and was really pleased to have the President of Australian Sailing Shavaun Bruland, and CEO of Australian Sailing Malcolm Page OAM OLY attend. 16 clubs and 3 classes took the chance to connect with them during the breaks, and to hear about Brisbane 2032.  

I would like to say a huge thank you to Harry Fisher from Down Under Sail, Graham Kennedy and John Allen from Mercury Marine,  Panellists, Challenge Wells from SYC, Sandy Byrt from Keppel Bay SC, Emma Jackson from Port Curtis SC, Ken Hurling OAM & Phil Danks from ILCA and Kristie Hatch from Mooloolaba Yacht Club for all the prep work they did to present some really interesting topics. 

You can find all the presentations on the website and if you couldn’t make it and have any questions, please give any of the Queensland team a call.  https://www.sailing.org.au/community/sailingsummit  

RAC Nominations close 15th June 2026 This year, a major milestone was the completion of the deregistration and liquidation process for Yachting Queensland Limited, with clubs now transitioned to direct membership with Australian Sailing. Nominations are still open for the establishment of the inaugural Queensland Regional Advisory Committee.  

The RAC represents the views of member clubs in QLD. They provide input into Australian Sailing initiatives and provide feedback on strategic priorities.  RAC members advocate and promote sailing and Australian Sailing 

With the deregistration of Yachting Queensland in March 2026, the Australian Sailing Board now invites nominations for representatives to form the QLD Regional Advisory Committee (RAC). This RAC is a committee of Australian Sailing and is elected by QLD clubs.  

There are four (4) positions vacant positions including a North Queensland representative and three (3) general representatives. Each Member Club is entitled to nominate one (1) person, who is a financial member of the Member Club. Nominations close on 15th June.  

Specific responsibilities include: 

• Appoint the Delegate to represent the views of Member Clubs at AS General Meetings
• Advocate and promote sailing and Australian Sailing
• Contribute to the development of the AS strategic plan
• Provide local guidance and advise on state specific issues
• Assist with government and industry advocacy
• Engage with and provide feedback from clubs
• Assist with review of affiliation fee appeals 

I encourage anyone interested to put in a nomination. 

New Finder on the Website 

The new finder is much more intuitive and can now search by location. https://www.sailing.org.au/finder/  If you are a qualification holder and you aren’t showing on the list, that’s because it is OPT IN to show on the website.   Anyone with a qualification in the Australian Sailing system will have a QUALIFICATION PROFILE available via their Australian Sailing online profile. You just need to log into your profile, click on qualifications, choose details and then update your qualification profile.  You can share as much or as little as you want. https://www.sailing.org.au/news/create-your-qualifications-profile 

Instructor Upskill Program 

Maroochy Sailing Club is the latest club to taken advantage of having an instructor development day at their club with a tailored uplift program for all instructors and Discover Sailing Principals.  We have had amazing feedback from all clubs who have completed this program.  If you haven’t seen the invitation from Di and would like to take up the opportunity, please reach out to her to lock in a date.  You can read more about it here: https://www.sailing.org.au/news/inside-the-instructor-upskill-program   

Using RevSport 

As you know I am a bit of a data nerd, but collecting participation data is critical for sailing because it turns assumptions into evidence—and that’s what drives better decisions at every level of the sport. 

At club level, participation data shows what’s actually happening on the water: who is sailing, how often, which programs are growing or declining, and where drop-off points occur (for example, from Tackers into youth or from learn-to-sail into membership). Without that visibility, clubs are effectively guessing when they invest in programs, instructors, boats, and facilities. 

At a state and national level, aggregated data helps identify broader trends—regional growth hotspots, demographic gaps (such as women and girls, youth retention, or adult participation), and the impact of initiatives like Discover Sailing Centres or school programs. That makes it possible to target support where it will have the most impact rather than spreading resources too thinly. 

It’s also essential for funding and advocacy. Governments, partners, and sponsors increasingly expect clear evidence of participation outcomes before investing. Strong data strengthens the case for facility upgrades, community programs, and major event hosting. 

Just as importantly, participation data helps measure whether the sport is achieving its long-term goals: growing lifelong engagement, improving diversity and inclusion, and strengthening pathways from grassroots to elite sailing. 

In short, you can’t improve what you can’t see—and participation data is what makes the sport’s growth visible, measurable, and manageable. 

A couple of data insights from Queensland: 

Only six clubs are linking their experiences in revsport. This can be anything from a Discover Sailing Day to a regular come and try on a Sunday, school holiday programs where the kids are just having fun.  All you need to do is link the event to an experience and then complete the participants afterwards. 

Only six clubs are linking their coaching programs in RevSport.  Green Fleet on the weekend before racing. After school training with your opti’s. Regular training in the ILCA’s on Saturday. Again, all you need to do is link the event in RevSport to the right coaching program. 

Play Well is the Australian Sport Commission’s Participation Strategy. The investment Funding for National Sporting Organisations for Participation has changed and we need all our Queensland’s clubs help to capture sailing’s membership and connected participant numbers through RevSport. We need you to encourage your members to complete the member survey created and sent by the Australian Sports Commission, and to Register and complete the modules in Game Plan.  Those three criteria have an impact on 53% of our funding.   

So please help your club and help Australian Sailing.  Make sure you put all your activities in RevSport so that we can collect the participation data we need. 

Game Plan  

The Australian Sports Commission self-assessment program for clubs is an essential part of the governance of your club.  Game Plan has been developed to enable clubs to make the lives of sporting club volunteers and leaders easier and ensure important club information is stored in one place, so that over time, as things change and progress, the club has a trusted record of information.  

Why It’s important to complete Game Plan 

Completing the modules honestly will help you examine how you operate and build and improve your capacity. While not compulsory it is becoming increasingly important that clubs build this Australian Sports Commission self-assessment for clubs and class associations into their annual review process.  Get started today:  https://www.ausport.gov.au/gameplan  

Discover Sailing Month

Discover Sailing Month returns this November, and clubs and Discover Sailing Centres are encouraged to start planning their Discover Sailing Days and participation activities now. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your club, welcome new participants and give people a taste of sailing through come-and-try experiences and open days.

To support you, Australian Sailing will soon release a brand-new suite of marketing assets available on Canva including social media tiles, posters and flyers, along with dedicated resources for clubs running SheSails and Sail Our Way events. We’ll also be promoting Discover Sailing Days nationally through our website and social channels, with a focus on events listed in revSPORT to help drive participation to your club.

Keep an eye out for further information on promotional resources and campaign updates, which will be shared in the coming week.

If you have any questions on the above topics, please contact the General Manager - QLD, Annie Watson at annie.watson@sailing.org.au. 

You can find a complete list of Australian Sailing Contacts – here.