ISS kicks off with near record attendance
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The second-largest gathering in the six-year history of the International Sailing Summit met Tuesday in Annapolis, Md., to listen and learn from the 19 guest speakers and panelists on hand for the opening day of the ISS, organizers reported today.
The summit, which was founded by Alistair Murray of Ronstan in 1999, is held to “stimulate, influence and lead the global sailing industry in cooperating with national and international sailing and industry groups to increase participation in sailing,” according to its organizers. “This global industry meeting serves as an action group/think tank to bring together all the various interests in sailing from both industry and sport.”
Among the 130 delegates from eight countries and four continents who attended Tuesday’s events were International Sailing Association Federation President Paul Henderson; Janet Baxter, president of US Sailing; Gary Jobson, ESPN commentator and former America’s Cup winner and Scot West, executive director of Sail America.
“We had an action-packed first day with a world of top-notch presentations and many great ideas and concepts,” said Murray. “It is gratifying to see the results of previous ISS activities as representatives from various countries come back and report their successes. This is a brilliant forum and a remarkable opportunity to learn from many of the best in the business throughout the world.”
The presentations to Summit attendees included:
A “Successful Sailing Events” panel discussion was also held and was moderated by John Arndt of Latitude 38. Arndt posed questions on the keys for major special event successes in the areas of sponsorship tactics, marketing activities, community relations and more. While responses varied, the panel agreed that the increase in Internet/web-based marketing activities had a major impact in their respective spheres of influence.
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