Club in Focus - Adelaide Sailing Club
Formed in 1998 from the union of Glenelg Sailing Club with Holdfast Bay Yacht Club, Adelaide Sailing Club (ASC) is well known amongst the South Australian sailing community as a welcoming club for all.
Recently named as the Australian Sailing Club of the Year (Category A), ASC boasts members ranging from juniors to seniors and active across a range of classes including multi-hulls, sports boats, trailerables, Sailability and a range of Olympic classes.
For Commodore of ASC, Donna Evans, winning the national award was an honour and testament to every individual volunteer and club member.
“It was a big year for us at Adelaide Sailing Club,” said Evans.
“We are a volunteer-run, multi-generational, family club. Everything we do is made possible with the help of our incredible volunteers and with the support of our generous sponsors and members.
“There are so many clubs that do amazing things, and as an off the beach dinghy club, we’re just so proud to be considered among them,” she said.
In addition to hosting the 2023 Masters Games - Sailing in October 2023, ASC also hosted the 2024 ILCA World Championship Regatta in 2024. Incorporating the 2024 ILCA Australian & Oceania Championships, 2024 ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship & Olympic Qualifier and the 2024 ILCA Masters World Championships, the event attracted more than 500 sailors from around the world.
A milestone event for both the sailing community and the South Australian community as a whole, the World Championships saw ASC upskill not just their own volunteers and members in order to successfully run the event, but those from other South Australian clubs as well.
ASC volunteer Peter Royle noted the deliberate training of volunteers was key to the successful event.
“The 2023/24 events not only grew our volunteer membership but supported them by way of a deliberate up-skilling and training program which has made our new and existing volunteers more capable and confident,” said Royle.
The training was so successful that the 2024 ILCA 7 Men's World Championship Medal Race was run by our volunteers - of course under the instruction of an international RO, but our volunteers did the work course laying and finishing.”
Furthermore, ASC made a consistent effort to give back to their local community in 2024, with Evans noting the club is about so much more than just sailing.
“We achieved things this year that we have never attempted before, and we were proud to do it all really well, but as a club, we’re not just about what we do on the water,” she said.
“We contribute a lot to our community - we’re very involved in re-generating the dunes around our club and with the help of other clubs in South Australia, we’ve raised the profile of sailing within our local community tremendously.
“We had so many incredible volunteers join us from far and wide this year, and because of that, we see the award not just as a club award but as one for the entirety of the South Australian community, and are very pleased to accept it on their behalf,” she said.
