Who are ISAF and why is their ‘Connect to Sailing’ Initiative so important?

The Icom family is really proud to have become partners with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) ‘Connect to Sailing’ (C2S) initiative. The International Sailing Federation is the world governing body for the sport of sailing, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The world governing body for the sport of sailing was created in Paris in October 1907 and was initially called the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) before the name was changed to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) on 5 August 1996.

ISAF is responsible for:

• the promotion of the sport internationally;
• managing sailing at the Olympic Games;
• developing the Racing Rules of Sailing and regulations for all sailing competitions;
• the training of judges, umpires and other administrators;
• the development of the sport around the world; and • Representing the sailors in all matters concerning the sport.

Through these Connect to Sailing Partners, International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is enabling its Member National Authorities (MNAs) to grow awareness of and increase accessibility to the sport of sailing and subsequently increase participation in their respective countries and ultimately internationally.

Through the ISAF Member National Authorities, the education sector and community outreach initiatives which are quite often acting a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) capacity, Connect to Sailing provides the means for any individual to enter the sport and experience the challenges and excitement of sailing across all types of recreational and competitive activity.

Hiroshi Nakaoka, President of Icom America and Director of Icom Incorporated said, ‘Icom America is proud to be part of this Global agreement; it brings together two great Marine organizations. Icom’s strong worldwide distribution makes us uniquely qualified to support an initiative such as this. We look forward to assisting to make this a successful endeavor for all concerned’.

Sam Taylor-Nobbs, Sales Director at Icom UK Ltd, ’For Icom to be associated with the world governing body for sailing who are also recognized by the International Olympic Committee is an incredible accolade for us. We are looking forward to working with ISAF on various projects especially the development of youth sailing. Communication is a vital part of people being able to enjoy their sport, whether it be training the next potential Olympic sailor in an Optimist or a member of the crew of a Volvo Ocean 65 talking to their support team as they arrive in port after just sailing a gruelling 2,500nm.... connecting to each other via communication is vital’.

Icom UK Marketing - marketing@icomuk.co.uk

18/09/2013