Earlier date for CSA conference

A new date has been set for this year’s Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) Annual General Meeting and Conference.

The event is how card for May 26 – 28, 2023 and the Conference consists of three days; the Annual General Meeting on day one, followed by two days of discussion, presentations, and strategizing about regatta organization, marketing, race management, measurement, and sailing development.

According to a press statement, the conference is a fantastic opportunity to discuss concerns, pitch ideas, and seek support from peers, sponsors, and industry stakeholders.

In previous years the event was scheduled for the beginning of the season (October) however, the CSA Board has decided to switch it to the end of the season instead,” a press statement added.

This change, according to the organizers allows the CSA Board, Committees, and Conference attendees to implement decisions made at the AGM and execute plans and ideas resulting from the Conference in the critical out-of-season planning months.

“Having the event earlier also allows the CSA and Regatta organizers to take advantage of marketing opportunities in the summer and fall months,” the statement added.

In 2019 and 2022, the CSA AGM and Conference were combined with the Caribbean Dinghy Championships (CDC) to create Caribbean Sailing Week.

The organizers claimed that even though these were very successful events, the CSA Board recognized that hosting such a large and diverse event limited the available host venues.

CSA President Michele Korteweg, said “the additional workload it creates for a sailing school to host a multi-day racing event, clinics, and the AGM and Conference is significant. We understand that some smaller locations could ideally host a Caribbean Dinghy Championship. Still, adding the 3-day Conference would be too much of a burden and would take away from race management. In St. Maarten we were lucky to have a dedicated team who managed the CDC through the sailing school and another dedicated team to the Conference, the Regatta Office. We understand this isn’t the setup in most islands and therefore feel it’s only fair to separate the events to allow more islands to bid for the CDC.”