UK sailing charity benefits from International Sailing Summit
by Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation 21 Nov 2014 20:40 AEDT
21 November 2014
(l to r) Alistair Murray (Ronstan), Tony Bishop (Bart's Bash), Richard Percy (ASSF), Alice Driscoll (ADPR), Fiona Pankhurst (President of BMF). (Cheque reads £2,500, a further £3,000 was raised following a gala dinner taking total to £5,500) © British Marine Federation
The Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation (ASSF) has received a donation of £5,500 from British Sailing. The money was raised from a successful International Sailing Summit (ISS) which was hosted by British Sailing in Amsterdam. The Foundation, based in the UK, uses sailing to transform the lives of young people across the world.
Founding trustee of ASSF, Olympic Gold medallist and America's Cup sailor Iain Percy opened the Summit which focused on participation, diversification and innovation in the sailing industry. Over 80 international delegates heard a range of presentations including a lively review of Bart's Bash, the largest sailing race in the world, organised by the Foundation and held in September 2014. The race attracted 30,734 people sailing across more than 60 countries.
CEO Richard Percy also outlined ASSF's future work which includes a unique piece of research into the specific benefits of sailing and on water participation.
The Foundation will be the official charity of British Sailing, a British Marine Federation group association, for the next two years and will work closely with the Sailing industry to develop its sailing programme's. These use the challenge of the sailing environment to develop young people’s personal skills, improving their ability to succeed in life, and enabling access to jobs and careers within the maritime sector.
Speaking after the presentation Iain Percy said "The Foundation is very much a global charity, helping people to get into sailing who might not otherwise have the opportunity. We assess any projects we support against Andrew Simpson's own values which were very much about people taking the initiative to pick their own lives up through the sport of sailing. We are delighted with the support of the sailing industry and the generous donation from this event."
andrewsimpsonfoundation.co.uk