Our Impact
Performance HQ
The Irish Sailing Performance HQ (PHQ) opened in 2019.
PHQ provided our High-Performance (HP) athletes with a central training hub, something which had not previously existed for Irish sailors.
The facility, housed in three shipping containers, was entirely funded through philanthropic donations by supporters of the Irish Sailing Foundation.
This brought High-Performance sailing in Ireland onto a more even footing with many other sports in Ireland, including Rugby, Swimming, Rowing, Athletics and Boxing.
The Programme
Irish Sailing’s Performance Pathway Programme has been immensely successful. The Pathway stages are clearly defined and age-appropriate training programmes are run annually. The Programme now include coaching, strength & conditioning, sports nutrition, sports psychology, meteorology expertise and data analysis.
In order to ensure a continued pipeline of talent, achieving greater international medal success for Ireland, the Programme needs to be expanded and be available to a broader base of athletes. Currently, there are 50 athletes on the Pathway. This would ideally grow to 100 athletes.
There are efficiencies and economies of scale in this, so doubling the numbers does not mean doubling the cost. In addition to this, having more teams across the stages of the Pathway creates a greater culture of competition and team development.
Opportunity
A core tenet of the ISF’s vision is to offer more opportunities to talented and ambitious athletes. The ambition and drive to achieve medal success for Ireland should not be deterred or blocked by financial constraints.
As an island nation with a strong maritime heritage, sailing should be a natural and unimpeded choice of sport for young Irish people.
Irish Sailing Successes
This table demonstrates a snapshot of Irish Youth and U23 Sailing success. The on-going challenge is to provide these enormously talented sailors with the opportunity to progress in a world class training programme and without prohibitive financial pressure.
