JSA of LIS Midwinter Meeting March 10-11, 2021
JSA of LIS Midwinter Meeting and Program Management Sessions via Zoom.
Two virtual sessions beginning at 7:00 PM, for about 1-3/4 hours, were held on each of these two evenings:
– Wednesday, March 10
– Thursday, March 11
The meeting resources are now available for the benefit those who were unable to attend, or as a refresher for those who were present. Included in the resources are these items for each session:
• Agenda
• Video and audio recordings
• Slides and other media
The JSA thanks each of the presenters who supported the Midwinter Meeting with their knowledge and experience. And we appreciated the dialog with meeting attendees, who included Flag Officers, Junior Sailing Program Chairs, Committees and Volunteers, Program- and Sailing-Directors and Head Instructors.
Leaders of the JSA member programs were invited to participate in these two sessions about program management topics for the 2021 season. Topics discussed included:
March 10:
– LESSONS LEARNED FROM PROGRAMMING DURING COVID: Panel of program reps described programming they used last summer and planning for 2021 (Christina Meyer & Tomas Ruiz, Seawanhaka Corinthian YC; Ira Bigeleisen, City Island YC; Doug Reynolds, Larchmont YC; and Alex Helfand, New York Athletic Club)
– SIEBEL SAILORS PROGRAM VALUES – How to incorporate proven teaching concepts from the US Sailing Siebel Sailors Program: MacKenzie McGuckin, Siebel coach in Florida, described how junior sailing programs may benefit from the innovative teaching techniques being developed by the five regional Siebel coaches nationwide.
– LEADERSHIP, AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF PROGRAM SAFETY: Rich du Moulin, Storm Trysail Foundation’s chair who has introduced junior sailors to Safety at Sea training since 1997, moderated our discussion on the relationship between Leadership and Safety and how we can integrate Leadership concepts into the operation of our junior programs. In 2020, Rich chaired the Storm Trysail Offshore Sailing Leadership Symposium that brought together leaders from within, and outside, the sailing world to better understand and promote a culture of safety and leadership in sailing. Background for Rich’s discussion may be viewed in a highlight video and a report from that Leadership Symposium.
– SAILORS FOR THE SEA UPDATE: Megan Grapengeter-Rudnick, Emma Janson and Paige Myatt, representing Sailors for the Sea in the Long Island Sound region, described ways to use Clean Regattas sustainability practices for your events and during daily sailing programs.
March 11:
– JUNIOR PROGRAM RISK MANAGEMENT – Experienced program reps discussed how to instill a culture of safety: Jeff Bresnahan, Shelter Island YC; Henry Millette, Indian Harbor YC; Tim Clark, JSA Vice President and Pequot YC.
– US SAILING SKILL UP DIGITAL INSTRUCTION: John Pearce, Director of Sport Development at US Sailing, described how your junior sailing program may benefit from Skill Up that supports US Sailing’s skill development curriculum by providing easy access to skill tracking, instructional videos, lesson plans, and program management resources.
– USING THE LASER 4.7 AS A TRANSITION BOAT: Lawrence McGrath, sailing director at Stamford YC and active Laser sailor, described how sailing programs may help juniors move into Laser sailing by starting with the smallest sail rig that has a 4.7 square meter area. A junior sailor’s perspective was offered by Kai McCulloch who sails the 4.7 rig at Huguenot YC.
– WHAT THIS SUMMER’S RACING EVENTS MIGHT LOOK LIKE: John Lombard and Warren Costikyan, JSA board members, discussed what seemed to work well for running races in 2020 and how we can build on that for 2021.
– SAFESPORT UPDATE: Janet Grapengeter, JSA co-chair, discussed how your program and your club can prepare to meet the updated requirements for protecting youth sailors during 2021.
OPEN DISCUSSIONS: Following each night’s scheduled sessions, an open discussion period provided the opportunity to ask questions and share ideas with other junior sailing program leaders.
