"Shaping the Future of Sailing" - UNCHARTED S01E12 Part II
24 February 2026
This week, on 24 February 2026, Australian Sailing released the Participation Plan for Sailing in Australia—a national roadmap to grow participation across the sport through to 2032 and beyond. Gregor was part of the Working Group that helped shape it.
Here's what's in it, and why Aurora's story is woven through almost every page.
The Plan is structured around five focus areas, delivered across three horizons: Unite (2026–28), Grow (2028–30), and Advance (2030–32). It aligns with the Australian Sports Commission's national Play Well strategy, which sets the vision that "everyone has a place in sport."
The five focus areas are:
Unify the Entry Experience.
Sailing's entry point needs to be visible, simple, and welcoming. Not everyone finds their way to a yacht club naturally—the sport has to go out and meet them. Programs like Discover Sailing and SailPass are central tools, with digital onboarding and retention resources to help people take their second, third, and tenth steps after their first time on the water.
Enable Flexible Participation.
This is the one closest to Aurora's heart. The Plan explicitly validates social, casual, and non-competitive sailing as genuine participation. Not everyone wants to race. Many of our best young sailors sail for the feeling of independence, or challenge, or belonging—not for trophies. The Plan calls for formats, membership models, and club offerings that reflect this reality.
Build a Connected Sailing Ecosystem.
Clubs, associations, and volunteers need to be better connected to share knowledge, resources, and best practice. A national events calendar, governance training, and a "buddy system" between clubs are among the practical steps.
Strengthen the Club Experience. Clubs are the heart of the sport. The Plan supports them with tools, training, and a national facilities audit to ensure they are welcoming, inclusive, and fit for the communities they serve.
Nationally Consistent Communication.
Sailing needs a united voice that tells diverse stories and shifts the perception that it's an expensive, elite, complicated sport. Participant stories—like the ones Aurora has been telling—are explicitly part of the strategy.
For Aurora, the connection is direct.
The youth sailors in our program who don't necessarily want to race.
The GG Camp scout who capsized four times and called it the best day of his life.
The Swinburne students whose literature review found real evidence for sailing's health impact. The Outdoors Victoria conference presentation that indirectly asked: what does sailing look like when you take the competition out?
All of it also sits inside this Plan.
Australian Sailing invites clubs, associations, volunteers, partners and participants to play their part in delivering it.
And Aurora is looking forward to continuing to be part of it.
