Making Waves- Women in Wind Winter Retreat

Hosted By Buffalo Canoe Club

Above: Kelly Hand (Former National Team Coach) and Jody Swanson (Rolex Sailor of the Year)

This past weekend nestled away quietly at the Buffalo Canoe Club in Ridgeway, Ontario, some of Canada’s top females in the sport of sailing gathered for a weekend retreat.

Featured speakers were Jody Swanson, US Rolex Female Sailor Of The Year, Kelly Hand, former National team coach, and Kim Case, Instructor Evaluator and Ontario Sailing board member.

Jody kicked off the weekend discussing her 3 Olympic campaigns, her sailing career and her award for US Sailing’s Sailor of the Year. With such a talented and experienced sailor at the table everyone unleashed their questions  

Kim led her session in discussion of the importance of starting with beginners and keeping them involved in the system. The conversation diverged into a discussion on the many aspects of sailing, areas to get involved and how to stay involved even through the challenges.

Sunday morning was welcomed by Kelly starting the morning with a refreshing speech about her role as National coach. She then led into a discussion on training and preparing the 470 team for the Olympics. 

Sunday afternoon began with a session from Lynne Beal and Irene McNeill on the changes to the rule book.

Each speaker put perfectly into words the dedication, sacrifices, challenges and most importantly the lessons learned and rewards from their sailing career. We concluded with a recap and reflection on the weekend. We all departed from the weekend with a network of friends from all areas of the sailing community and a new support system for our individual sailing careers.

Thank you to the Buffalo Canoe Club for being a wonderful host for the retreat. The accommodations were complete with superb food, friendly service and a relaxing atmosphere.

Also thank you to all who contributed to the success of the weekend including Ontario Sailing and CYA for sponsoring the weekend. We hope to see everyone back next year.

Article By Ashley Lethbridge, Women and Wind Chair, and photos by Amy Goman