On 10 and 11 December Barcelona hosted a new edition of the World Yacht Racing Forum, one of the most important sailing events worldwide. International personalities from the world of competitive sailing discussed the growing business sector during the two-day meeting. Among the speakers was Toni Tió, the president of Barcelona Clúster Nàutic, who took part in the conference on the economic opportunities of sailing as a driver of growth and development in our country.
Laia Tutzó, director of the Barcelona International Sailing Center, moderated the panel discussion chaired by Toni Tió, Joaquin Barenys vice-commodore of the Barcelona Royal Sailing Club (an associate of Barcelona Nàutic Clúster), Xavier Amador, Institutional Relations Director at Barcelona City Council's Department for Quality of Life, Equality and Sport, and Cati Sanmartí, former BWR skipper and former coordinator of operations of the Vendée Globe.
The conference touched on Barcelona's potential as a strategic point for nautical sports, noting how the city has managed to position itself on the competitive sailing calendar with the organisation of key events such as the Barcelona World Race, the Puig Vela Clàssic or the Conde de Godó Sailing Trophy. The round table also served to remind participants of two important competitions to be held in Barcelona in 2015 - the Nacra 17 European Championships, organised the BISC, and the ORC 2015 world cruise at the RCNB.
However, competition sailing does not only revolve around large events. The round table also mentioned the approximately 100 Catalan sailing clubs organised around 1,000 sporting events annually. The conference served to discuss the future challenges facing the sector, the benefits of organising such events for the city and the role to be played by the public and private entities in making Barcelona a benchmark for the nautical sector.
The World Yacht Racing Forum, held in Barcelona for the first time
The WYRF conference was attended by over 200 delegates and involved more than 50 speakers from 20 different countries. This seventh edition was held in Spain for the first time with the support of the Barcelona Foundation for Ocean Sailing (FNOB). The participants included some of the most influential figures of high competition world sailing, such as Rob Weiland, Class General Secretary TP52's, or Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, and several active sailors like Pepe Ribes as well as members of the press and representatives of the nautical industry worldwide.
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