Determination of Current Situation and Dissemination of Race Officials’ Training in European National Sailing Federation

The aim of this research is to collect and analyze the qualitative and quantitative data from Members of the European Sailing Federation (EUROSAF) about their Race Officials’ (ROs) training, status (commitment level, license renewal, selection criteria etc.) and educational programs. The expected output is a description of the current situation. This work is the basis for future projects to create a European-level common-core syllabus as well as education and certification guidelines for EUROSAF and its Members in a view of Pan-European development of the Sailing Sport. The results present the current situation of active ROs in National Sailing Federations in Europe and show what is operationalized in each four RO categories (race officer, jury, umpire, measurer) for a representative sample of European National Sailing Federations. The results are presented in category, quantified and classified by country, level of education, selection’s criteria, type of training and status (assistant, club, regional, national and international). A special attention will be made in the study sample as the analysis of ROs distribution, literature review and analysis of the existing training programs of selected members in order to develop an accurate data collection tools. Finally, it should be possible to draft a common core curriculum for discussion by EUROSAF Members and to propose training priorities by RO categories and countries. Then each National Federation can determine a catalogue of priorities for ROs training in function of their own needs and always with a vision of the development of Sailing Sport for their Country and for the whole of Europe.