Proposed Centre for Sailing Excellence in Kingston, ON

The looming grey walls and imposing guard towers of the Kingston penitentiary are a familiar sight to sailors in Kingston, the sailing venue for the 1976 Olympics and host city for over 90 World and North American sailing championships since then. Now the waterfront Pen has closed. What should become of it? A coalition of sailors, area residents and community leaders have come together to propose a plan to renovate, revitalize and repurpose the 20-acre site with an international centre of excellence for sailing at its heart.

Taking advantage of favourable geography, well established international recognition as a sailing venue and specialized human resources, the centre of excellence will attract and develop Canadian sailors and coaches to compete and win medals at the highest levels.

John Curtis, president of Wind Athletes Canada notes, “A centre of excellence like this will set the bar for high performance training and development, not just in Canada but will be the envy around the world.”