Sail Canada invites nominations to help shape the future of Canadian sailing

May 9, 2017

The Nominating Committee of Sail Canada is calling for nominations from interested individuals who are prepared to help shape the future of the sport of Sailing in Canada. Candidates for election to the Sail Canada Board of Directors must be at least 18 years of age and be a member in good standing of a member club, class or other member organization.

caption: Sail Canada board of directors, Sail Canada CEO Don Adams, and Provincial sailing association Executive Directors – at the most recent Sail Canada semi-annual meetings in Winnipeg

The Board consists of the President, six Directors at large and two Athlete Directors. Every year at the Annual General Meeting, Board vacancies are replaced through an election by the Members. The term of office for the President is two years and is eligible to be elected for a second term. Directors at large serve for three years in rotation with two retiring each year. Directors at large are eligible to be elected for a second term. Athlete Directors are elected by members of the Canadian Sailing Team in a separate process. 

There will be two Director at Large positions up for election at the 2017 Sail Canada Annual General Meeting to be held on October 21, 2017. One Director has completed a second and final three-year term and one Director has finished a first, three-year term. The Chair position is also up for election with incumbent having completed the first of a possible two, two-year terms.

The Nominating Committee performs a recruiting role in accordance with Sail Canada by-laws, issuing the call for candidates and publishing the list of candidates with brief biographies.

The Board has examined the professional skills and background of the existing Directors and has determined that persons with previous Board experience and a background in Human Resource management or Legal affairs would enhance the Board; and specifically encourages people with those backgrounds to apply.

The election process must also ensure that there is a minimum of two members of each gender on the board of directors, not including the Athlete Directors. The Nominating Committee is also tasked with ensuring that there is reasonable representation of official languages, regions and differing physical abilities amongst the candidates. 

Interested persons should send their name, contact information and qualifications to the Nominating Committee at sailcanada@sailing.ca or by regular mail to: 
Nominating Committee, Sail Canada, 53 Yonge Street, Kingston, ON, K7M 6G4
The Sail Canada by-laws are available here; Sail Canada By-laws.

About Sail Canada

Established in 1931, Sail Canada (formerly known as the Canadian Yachting Association) is the national governing body for the sport of sailing. The Association promotes sailing in all its forms including yachting through collaboration with our partners, the Provincial Sailing Associations, member clubs, schools, and many individual stakeholders.