What J Sailors Can Do to Help!(Sydney, Australia)- Yachting Australia released the findings of a research report regarding the perceptions of sailing in Australia. Developed over six months by leading sports and entertainment consultancy firm gemba, the report will shape future Yachting Australia and yacht club programs to increase membership and participation.
In releasing the report Yachting Australia CEO Phil Jones said that the information will be used to shape a number of future programs and initiatives. In working with industry partners, he said "we jointly identified the lack of solid data and evidence into the levels of participation in sailing, and what the drivers and barriers were to increasing it," Jones said. "Whilst there are plenty of opinions in the sailing community, we really needed solid and objective information about
what club members and the Australian public think of our sport."
The top six insights in the Report Summary are:
- Australians generally have a low rate of both participation in, and passion for, sailing (we rank 34th and 37th respectively amongst all sports)
- Sailing is perceived as an 'exclusive' sport while not being seen as very 'accessible'. Yacht Clubs are generally not welcoming, and are for older people only
- On average, the starting age of sailing is much higher than other sports with established junior programs
- Primary and Secondary school age children, and young families have the highest interest in participating in sailing in the future
- Relaxation is consistently the most important reason for participation in sailing among both current sailors and those interested in sailing. New participants are interested in a social, relaxed activity rather than competition, the later tending to be more important to current club members.
- The main barrier for future participation is the perceived cost of sailing. Boat ownership, maintenance, storage costs, and annual membership payment, are expensive, especially for a family.
From the J/Boats perspective, we agree. And, having participated in multiple such studies over the course of time with industry partners like SAIL America, SAILING WORLD, SAIL magazine and others, the results all have similar outcomes--- in short, highlighting a need to make the sport and recreation of sailing more accessible to all. In fact, it's a primary reason why "accessibility" was a specific requirement for the design of the new J/70 Speedster-- it had to be accessible physically (children, women and men alike) as well as logistically (ramp launch, trailerable and easy to rig). It's also why J/70 is affordable and designed to address the needs of yacht club, sailing club and public sailing programs in terms of affordability and, most importantly, durability. Plus, ensuring J/70 had the trademark all-around performance in an exciting new package means it should attract both old and new sailors alike to the brand over the course of time. To learn more about the J/70 speedster - the ultimate trailerable sailing machine. To learn more about the social and demographic drivers in sailing. 
