As the Government recently declared ‘Sports Yachting’ a National Sport, the way is open for sailing to be added to the school’s sports curriculum, thus offering every schoolchild from 8 to 18 years the opportunity to learn to sail free of charge. It is envisaged that this programme will become operational in the schools during 2010. The Ministry of Sport is working with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Transport to make it feasible for pupils to be delivered to a sailing centre for a two hour weekly session during schools hours.
A separate non-profit organization – The National Sailing Academy – is being formed with charitable aims to manage the Academy.
The Board of the Academy will comprise volunteers and the following organizations will be offered seats on that Board:
Government: Ministry of Sports
Abma : Antigua Barbuda marine association
Marinas :
Yacht Club Marina
Falmouth Harbour Marina
Catamaran Marina
Nelson’s dockyard Marina
Jolly Harbour Marina
Ondeck sailing
Swalings swim club
Antigua yacht club
Jolly Harbour Yacht club.
The Academy will be dedicated to teaching the youth (8 – 18yrs) of Antigua to swim and sail. It will provide the staff, the boats and equipment, and, when funds allow, the building of a suitable facility. Initially, training will take place at Antigua Yacht Club where the facilities and infrastructure for teaching are already in place. It would aim to create a ‘satellite’ operation at Jolly Harbour with the assistance of the Jolly Harbour Yacht Club.
The funding will be based on voluntary annual contributions from visiting yachts as well as businesses and other organizations both on Antigua and overseas.
The Academy Board would meet regularly to report progress of the scheme and to set the agenda for the Academy, both financial and logistical.
Accounts would be prepared by a bookkeeper and audited by an independent company of accountants on an annual basis.
Contributions would only be payable by each yacht on its first (or only) arrival each season. The contribution requested would be a minimum U$1.00 per foot of overall length of the yacht.
Our plan is to have the funding part of the operation up and running now in order that we may take advantage of the yachts expected to arrive for events such as the Super yacht Cup, RORC Caribbean 600, Classic Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week.
We plan to have a board at the Academy with the names of our contributors listed and hope that we may count you amongst them.
Please contact the Elizabeth Jordan at +1 (268) 460-1799 for details of how you may make your contribution
