The 2024 JSA of LIS Event Management Workshop was held online Wednesday, April 24, from 7-9 pm.

Regatta chairs, race officers, regatta committee members/volunteers, sailing and program directors were all welcomed. Each club that planned to host a regatta this summer (or thinking of hosting one in the future) benefited from having its representative(s) attend.

The moderated discussion format of this workshop was designed to help participants learn from one another about the practices for managing successful regattas that are enjoyed by the competitors who attend.

The meeting focused on these related topics:

1. Welcome by Tim Clark, JSA chairperson, who also described how the JSA templates for Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions will be updated for 2024.
2. Discussion about conduct of Support Persons at regattas, such as coaches and parents, who may need to be reminded about VHF radio etiquette and safe powerboat handling.
3. Preparing Sailors for Regatta Success, particularly how more Green Fleet regattas may be co-located with Red/Blue/White regattas so Optimist sailors may benefit from a greater number of experiences racing in Green Fleet events that help develop the skills that prepare them to enjoy the White Fleet experience.
4. Organizing a Successful Regatta, moderated by Kevin Broom, Sailing Director at American Yacht Club, in which he and other experienced regatta hosts discussed how they prepare to host regattas. and invited participants to describe their own criteria for what the sailors and the hosts think contribute to a memorable event.

Topics 3. and 4. expanded on suggestions made by Jay Kehoe during his talk at the 2023 Event Management Workshop (attendees were encouraged to review Jay’s slides before this 2024 workshop).

The resources from this workshop, including video / audio recording and slides, may be accessed on this resource page.