ISA battle to retain funding

SAILING VOLVO OCEAN RACE AND SPORTS COUNCIL FUNDING:WITH WIDESPREAD public expectation of cutbacks in public funding, the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) has this week stated its case to retain the support it receives from the Irish Sports Council over the past decade. While many changes fall under the social framework type heading, it is the economic benefits that now hang in the balance.

It hardly seems all that long ago when “yotting” was ignored by officialdom as the preserve of a wealthy elite and efforts to point out the diversity of the sport fell on deaf ears: a few big yacht clubs with imperial baggage was sufficient imagery to slam doors.

However, the creation of the Irish Sports Council with its mandate to foster sporting development in Ireland presented an opportunity to start afresh and prove the potential of the sector.

Faced with the early chill of recessionary winds, the ISA makes a creditable case for itself. Since sports council funding began, the association membership increased from 16,000 to more than 25,000 as affiliated clubs grew from 45 to 74, with most of the latter based away from the traditional strongholds of Cork and Dublin.

The area of education has seen the most significant growth as training centres have increased from 60 to 139. ISA staff numbers have risen from just four in 1999 to their present total of 13 including the most recent appointment of a motor-boating manager. That drive towards better standards is reflected in the fourfold-plus growth in annual certificates of 4,000 (1998) to 17,000 last year.

Most importantly, the ISA estimate that 3,000 people are employed directly in their sector with 550 instructors newly appointed plus 450 validated in 2008. There are around 1,000 existing trainers, who teach 6,000 children to sail boats each year.

Plus, about 1,000 full-time employees of various clubs and facilities are involved as caterers, bar, boathouse, centre principals and others around the coast.

Major events generated by the sport have proved of real economic benefit. These events recently include ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final (2007), ISAF Nations Cup European Qualifer (2008) while forthcoming events include ISAF Team Racing Worlds 2011 and the ISAF Youth World Championship in 2012. Home-grown events such as Cork and Dun Laoghaire Weeks also offer significant benefits to local communities.

The visit of the Volvo Ocean Race to Galway from May 23rd to June 6th will prove a real bonus. Estimated to be worth €43 million to the economy for an outlay of €8 million, such an event would not have come about but for the existing interest in the sport in Ireland due to the work of the ISA.