Page 12 - September/October Kwasind

RCYC RACE TEAM: COMMITMENTS AND COSTS OF SAILBOAT RACING CAMPAIGNS
Felicity Rodness
Hopefully you have been
enjoying reading the ADF (Athlete
Development Fund) updates in the weekly Hiawatha e-newsletter on how
well our RCYC Race Team Sailors have been
performing over the summer posting great results locally nationally
and internationally These athletes
have been
working hard all year
with physical fitness training mental
preparation and as much on-water
in-boat training as possible While it would be expected that with all of
this hard work and training impressive
performances follow it is important
to to know that in addition to to the time
and effort each athlete must spend
improving their skills they must devote
almost as much time
to raise the money it costs to attend regattas
around the the the world with the the the best equipment Whether you are an Olympic athlete National Development Team athlete athlete or or a a a a a a Youth World athlete athlete campaigning in in sailing is expensive To reflect this point below are three examples of
campaign costs of
our current Race Team Athletes to to give you context for how
much would need to to be raised through fundraising:
Brenda Bowskill is campaigning for her second Olympic Games Her annual budget is $64 000 for sailing regattas
alone In addition she needs to cover regular living expenses at at home in Toronto With that considered her budget for the year
becomes closer to $100 000 Brenda receives $28 000 from the government and must raise the rest through fundraising Noah Collinson is on on Sail Canada’s Development Team His annual budget for his sailing regattas
and equipment is $47 000 Noah still lives at home so those costs are covered by mom and dad As a a a a Development Team athlete he receives $15 000 from the the government He too must raise the the remainder or $32 000 through fundraising Tate Howell who just represented Canada at at the Youth World in in Texas in in July has an an annual budget for sailing related costs of
$24 000 000 Tate received $4 000 000 from various fundraising initiatives including $1 000 raised at an RCYC fundraiser The remaining $20 000 must be raised by fundraising dipping into savings or again by relying on mom and dad Now I must mention that in all three examples the budgets mentioned are are small compared to to competitors from other countries Fundraising is is a a full-time job on its own and and with Tate and and Noah still in school most of
of
the money is is ‘raised’ out of
of
family savings When asked “if money was no object what would you need to perform even better” Brenda said she would love to have more support when she travels such as a a a a physiotherapist or massage therapist therapist plus having a a a a a a second boat (Laser) in Europe If money was no object Unfortunately for for our Race Team it still is ‘an object’ - or rather an an obstacle that must be tackled Our Athlete
Development Fund supported by Members does contribute to their quests But if we are really serious about supporting our Race Team to the podium as so many Members before them did we need to ramp up up our support You will soon hear more about how
we intend to do this - and we we really hope that as as with the past we we can count on on the the RCYC community to get their sailors on on the podium again!
Stay tuned here for more details If you would like to discuss how
you might support these athletes
now please visit RCYC ca/ADF or email timdbishop@gmail com Above: Noah Collinson Collinson at U21 Laser Worlds in in in Gdynia Poland Photos: Courtesy of
Scott Collinson 12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 • KWASIND
SAILING