Parental Information – Teams
During the year, a number of places on Sailing teams are offered to sailors. They may be on the ISA squad, or World/European/Team Racing teams etc.
What happens next?
The parent will be normally asked to sign a consent form for their child to travel to the event. Medical consent will also be sought. Parents and sailors will also need to sign a Code of Conduct.
Sailors appointed to teams are expected to act with a level of maturity if they are to represent their country. Most teams will travel with a Team Coach and/or Team Leader or Team Mum.
The team will stay in team accomodation; they will share rooms, eat meals together, look after their own and each other’s gear, sail together, and work with the coach and leader to perform well, enjoy themselves, and represent their country appropriately.
The Team Leader or IODAI will organise the event, accomodation, boat transportation or boat charter, transportation of sails, flights or ferries.
It is not normally necessary for a parent to travel with their child to an event. Should a parent wish to travel, or been advised that, to meet particular needs of a child, they must travel, they should make their intentions known to the event organiser. The organiser may then be able to advise the parent about suitable accommodation.
Parents agree not to stay in the same accomodation as the team; the ethos of the team is that it is an integrated unit, all sailors striving to sail well and support each other.
Special treatment, such as having family or friends on-site, may impact negatively on a sailors performance, or on the performance of other sailors on the team, and is not permitted. A level playing field for all the team is important.
Parents will normally be expected to accompany their child to the point of departure for the event, and to meet them at the point of arrival after the event.
If the parent is going to be at the event, the Team Leader will ensure that the parent has ample opportunity to visit with their child, at times that do not impact on the organisation of the team, generally in the evening, before or after the evening meal. At some venues, for example where the Team Leader has to prepare food, or where transport is an issue, travelling parents may be assigned tasks by the Team Leader should they wish to lend assistance.
For parents who are not travelling, the Team Leader will notify them of the best times to contact their child. This will normally be in the evening, after the evening meal and before bed. It is normal that the Team Leader will relieve the children of electronic devices at bedtime – phones, music players etc – in the interest of the child getting a full night’s sleep.
As all details of the venue will probably not be available to the Team Leader until arrival at the event, times of contact may change once the team arrives. These times will always be assigned in the best interests of the sailors.
Parents of children sailing on teams should be aware that their child will need passport, EHIC card (E111), sellotaped to the back of the passport, travel insurance if applicable, sail measurement form, boat insurance form, boat measurement forms if applicable, Medical consent form, and code of conduct. These should be placed in a secure plastic folder and handed to the team leader on departure.
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