13th International Sailing Summit set to wake up the sailing industry

The 13th International Sailing Summit (ISS), taking place on 17 November at METS in Amsterdam, will prove revolutionary for the industry by demonstrating that to succeed in a global market companies must diversify and innovate. 'Waking up the sailing industry – how sailing needs to modernise, diversify and develop to attract and retain participants' has been announced by British Sailing, an association of the British Marine Federation (BMF), as the theme of the 2014 Summit.

This worldwide forum, bringing together the best in the industry, aims to drive change and promote sailing on a global scale. Broken-down into three sessions, each will address a need for modernisation:

"Diversification"

Speakers will identify the future target audiences which have evolved from today's global community, including amongst others Molly Winans, Spinsheet Magazine on "Changing Your Game Plan to Welcome Diverse Customers"

"Participation"

A unique chance to hear how experts within and outside of sailing have successfully driven participation in their sport. This will include observations from Terry Greenwood, British Cycling on "Learning from Another Industry – Growing Participation in Cycling"

"Innovation"

Speakers will demonstrate how and why modernisation and creativity is central to future prosperity for the industry. This will include a great insight from Philippe Fourrier and Philippe Bru, Ilago Event, on an incredibly popular & growing event "Defi Wind & Defi Kite"

The annual ISS has proven itself a prominent event for the forerunners of the sailing industry. After last year's Summit between 90-100% of attendees anticipated their return or endorsement of future ISS's*. In consequence, the 13th ISS is an event not to be missed to ensure your business is part of its future.

As Fiona Pankhurst, President of the British Marine Federation and Head of Corporate Marketing & PR at Raymarine enthuses "The International Sailing Summit brings together some of the world's leading lights with the experience, ideas and innovations required to help sailing develop and grow. We will be hearing from other sports about how they have faced and overcome challenges in order to grow, and will be learning about new technologies to encourage participation. For any company involved in any aspect of sailing, this conference is vital as part of your company's development, to see how you can grow your market place and to start METS energised with new ideas and solutions from the exciting panel of presenters and high profile after-dinner speakers. It's a not to be missed opportunity to benefit your business."

To book your place as a delegate visit www.britishsailing.org and click on International Sailing Summit and fill in the booking form, ISS cost is €236 per person which includes the summit, lunch, networking and a fantastic gala dinner.