News
General Manager - Western Australia Update October 2025
Published Wed 08 Oct 2025
The latest updates from Australian Sailing's General Manager - Western Australia - Kate Wearn
Please click this link to find all past WA General Manager's Updates.
General Update
Welcome to the October update, from the Western Australian office.
The past months have been filled with enthusiasm and activity, concluding in the successful delivery of Zhik Youth Sail WA and the WA Sailing Awards.
At the end of August, Tait and Kate travelled to Exmouth, to conclude the WA Sailing Summit Roadshow, conduct the Exmouth Yacht Cub DSC review and engage in some important planning discussions with our northern-most Club. This Club visit commenced the delivery of our brand-new affiliated Club flags and stickers, which we look forward to delivering in person to all affiliated Clubs across the State.
Throughout August and September, the WA Sailing Awards finalists were announced, via our Facebook page, in the lead-up to the WA Sailing Awards on 2 October. The finalist announcements gathered a lot of worthy attention and accolades, and we were pleased to see an 86% increase in attendance at the Awards presentation evening from the previous year.
Three Officials courses were run in September, capitalising on the increased interest in accreditation opportunities following the Officials Workshop in late-July. An Umpire course was run in the lead-up to the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships in early-September, followed by a National Equipment Auditor course, and finally a Regional and National Race Officer Seminar. Plans are underway for future courses, and we look forward to revealing accreditation opportunities for the next 12 months before the end of the year.
Zhik Youth Sail WA rounded out the month of September, hosted by Nedlands Yacht Club. It was exciting to see one of the biggest events in terms of participants in recent history, with over 160 sailors on the water between the Coaching Clinic and WA Youth Championships, supported by a team of 23 Coaches during the clinic and over 50 volunteers for the WA Youth Championships.
We were grateful for the opportunity to welcome Australian Sailing CEO Malcolm Page to WA, to coincide with Zhik Youth Sail WA and the WA Sailing Awards. Malcolm visited a range of Clubs in the Perth metro area, met with the WA Government, WAIS and caught up with a group of regional Club representatives before the Awards. Malcolm’s passion for our sport and engagement with Clubs across the State is inspiring and was very well received by all who were fortunate to meet Malcolm during this visit.
The team have greatly enjoyed attending a number of Club Opening Days over the last couple of weeks, with a number still to take place. Thank you to all Clubs who invite us to these important start of season celebrations.
This week we celebrated Jade Lane’s one year work anniversary at Australian Sailing, and acknowledge the undoubtably positive impact Jade has had on all her work and interactions. An extra-special thanks to Club Support Officers Tait Kunzli and Jade Lane, for their sustained efforts over a busy couple of months. Tait and Jade’s ongoing contributions are greatly appreciated!
View the highlights from these great initiatives and activities, and stay up to date with the latest news and opportunities from Australian Sailing, via our social media platforms:
Zhik Youth Sail WA 2025
As noted, it was fantastic to see 160 sailors on the water during the Zhik Youth Sail WA week, from 27 September to 2 October, hosted by Nedlands Yacht Club. Sailors travelled from as far as Christmas Island, Denmark, Albany and Esperance, with some inter-state sailors also making the trip.
Special thanks to the Nedlands Yacht Club team, for all their efforts hosting the event, including the delivery of the state-of-the-art Sail Training Centre, at 4pm on the Friday prior!
Thank you also to the team of world-class Coaches who worked with the sailors for the four-day Coaching Clinic, preparing them for the WA Youth Championships on 1 and 2 October.
We also thank all Clubs who assisted with the loan of RIBs during the event, to ensure we could cater for all fleets.
Please see the news article here, for a full wrap up of Zhik Youth Sail WA and the results of the WA Youth Championships.
WA Sailing Awards
The engagement and attendance with the WA Sailing Awards this year was great to witness, especially from our regional Clubs. We look forward to seeing increasinglymore nominations in future years at this special opportunity to acknowledge and reward people throughout the WA sailing community.
Please see the news article here, for a full recount of the Awards, including all finalists and winner acknowledged on the evening, including the eight Barranjoey Pin recipients.
Funding Opportunities
Please view all current Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport opportunitieshere.
Please view all currentAustralian Sports Commissionopportunitieshere.
2025-26 WA Youth Engagement Grants Program
The 2025-26 WA Youth Engagement Grants Program provides grants for local governments, community service organisations, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to implement projects that support young people to be involved in the decisions that affect them, develop life skills that support them to transition to independence, be involved in community life, and achieve their goals.
This includes, for example:
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Establishing or implementing a Youth Advisory Council.
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Implementing youth-led initiatives and actions to benefit the community (such as Youth Action Plans).
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Building the skills and capacity of young people (such as tailored advice, work ready skills, and “life admin” training).
The State Government is committed to supporting young people to achieve their goals and shape the world they live in under the WA Youth Action Plan 2024-2027: Koorlangka Bidi.
Grants of up to $5,000 are available for short-term, one-off activities or initiatives of up to six months’ duration. Grants of up to $10,000 for longer term, community-wide, strategic initiatives (6-12 months).
If your organisation is interested in applying for a grant through the 2025-26 WA Youth Engagement Annual Grants Program, please visit the Youth Engagement Grants website:
WA Youth Engagement Grants Program
Applications close 17 November.
Department of Transport Update
The Coastal Calendar for the 2025/26 season has been approved, with all information available on the webpage here.
In addition, the Department of Transport exemptions for the next two years have been approved, a copy is available here. The current exemptions are applicable to all participating in events, recognised and approved by the Swan River Racing and Coastal Calendar process.
We thank Clubs for their ongoing cooperation, to ensure the timely and accurate sharing of information, which facilitates our ongoing relationship with the Department of Transport and ensures the safety of all activities on the water.
The DoT have shared a feedback form, which can be completed to report incidents and issues on the water. Any near misses, safety concerns, complaints about other water users, etc. can be reported, which will allow the Department to address any concerns or ongoing issues. Please view and complete the form HERE.
Incidents that are contravening a law should be reportedvia the following: Report a boating or marine incident | Department of Transport.
Sinking or grounded vessels can be reported via the Deckee App, or to Navigational.Safety@transport.wa.gov.au, provided it is not an emergency situation. For emergencies please direct reports to Western Australian Water Police - 08 9480 9924.
The Leeuwin Returns Home – Friday 24 October
After more than 100 days in dry dock, Western Australia’s iconic sail training ship, STS Leeuwin II, will make her long-awaited return to Fremantle Harbour later this month — and the WA sailing community is invited to join the celebration.
The Leeuwin Port Party will take place at Victoria Quay, Fremantle, on Friday 24 October from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, welcoming the ship home to B Berth after extensive repairs following last year’s Fremantle Port collision.
The Leeuwin will arrive under tow from tugs, with the support of Svitzer and Fremantle Ports, who are working with Leeuwin Ocean Adventure to create a memorable return — including plans for a spectacular water arch welcome as the vessel re-enters the Inner Harbour (timing to be confirmed on the day).Boats of all kinds are welcome to form a flotilla to welcome the Leeuwin back to the Port. For those not on the water, a number ofevents will be taking place at Victoria Quay.
Please see www.sailleeuwin.com for further information.
Fremantle Traffic Bridge Project -Upcoming Impacts to Navigation Channel Access
The Fremantle Traffic Bridge Team have provided an update regardingthe Project to replace the existing traffic bridge. Please note the following, and share with your Club members as appropriate:
The following provides important informationregarding impacts to all river users during the next stage of construction.
Cranes will be used to lift large concrete segments and associated materials to build the edge of the new bridge, and this will be followed by removal of the existing bridge.
The safety of river users and workers is a priority as we need to lift some segments over the navigation channel. To carefully manage everyone’s safety during these lifts, there will be intermittent interruption to river traffic. This will involve contraflow vessel management and short closures of one navigation channel (either north or south).
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Closure timings will range from 15 minutes to over two hours (one channel at a time).
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Closure locations will be based on required lifting movements at the time.
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We are continuing to work with river users, including ferries and emergency services, to help manage impacts, where possible.
Navigation channel impacts are expected to start in late October 2025 and continue until November 2026. Importantly:
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Spotter vessels will be placed in suitable locations to capture the attention of vessels approaching the construction site.
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Spotter vessels will be contactable via VHF channel 71.
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Signage (see below) will be displayed at boat ramps along the river and coast boat ramps to reach all users.
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River users are asked to travel slowly and carefully through the area.
Any questions on the above topics please contact the General Manager - WA, Kate Wearn at kate.wearn@sailing.org.au.
We look forward to seeing you on the water, or at your Club soon!
We are grateful for the support of the WA Government in delivering events and initiatives. The State government is a major supporter of Australian Sailing in Western Australia. Sport and recreation builds stronger, healthier, happier and safer communities.
Keep in touchAll members of our team areavailable to answer your queries by phone, face-to-face or to meet via Microsoft Teams online.
You can find a full list of Australian Sailing Contacts - here. |
