World Sailing Annual Conference praised as success after election guarantees gender-balanced Board

World Sailing Annual Conference praised as success after election guarantees gender-balanced Board © World Sailing

World Sailing President Quanhai Li and World Sailing CEO David Graham have praised the success of the 2025 World Sailing Annual Conference, a week which culminated in the election of two female Vice Presidents to deliver a gender-balanced Board as guaranteed under the federation's new constitution.

Sophia Papamichadopoulos OLY (CYP), Olympian and founder of the Winds of Change initiative, and Corinne Migraine (FRA), vice chair of the World Sailing Oceanic and Offshore Committee, were elected to the Board in the World Sailing General Assembly of its Member National Authorities.

The General Assembly was the last meeting of the 2025 World Sailing Conference, hosted in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, an event which also included the World Sailing Council, the World Sailing Awards and in-person meetings of all the federation's Committees and Commissions.

The event was supported by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Failte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority for Ireland, and Irish Sailing, the national federation for the sport in Ireland.

Following Conference, new World Sailing Vice Presidents Papamichadopoulos and Migraine joined their first World Sailing Board meeting on Sunday.

World Sailing President Quanhai Li said: "My congratulations go to Sophia and Corinne. I was delighted to welcome them to their first Board meeting, and I look forward to working with them for the rest of the quad.

"They bring with them considerable expertise and their election reflects the strength of the new World Sailing Constitution which guarantees that our Vice Presidents are gender balanced.

"I thank the other candidates for their contribution to the election process, and I look forward to their continued to commitment to our sport. I am grateful to the World Sailing Elections Panel who provided the oversight required of a modern international federation like ours.

"My gratitude also goes to our hosts. Last week we saw the true warmth of Irish hospitality in one of the world's great sailing communities - from Irish Sailing, but also from the Royal St George Yacht Club, the Royal Irish Yacht Club, and the National Yacht Club, who all opened their doors to our delegates.

"Lastly I want to thank our Board, our Committees and Commissions, and our Member National Authorities, who came together in Dun Laoghaire and worked collaboratively in the best interests of sailing."

David Graham, CEO of World Sailing, said: "This has been a successful week for sailing - we have met, debated and agreed actions to address the big opportunities and challenges our sport faces.

"The work that has been done will stand the federation in good stead for years to come.

"We have made significant progress in our preparations for the LA28 Olympic Games and on our bid for inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games. And solid foundations have been prepared for the 2027 World Sailing Championships in Fortaleza and Gdynia.

"The World Sailing Awards, wonderfully hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club, saw two offshore sailing heroes named as Rolex World Sailor of the Year. Charlie Dalin and Justine Mettraux were winners on a fantastic evening.

"Justine was unable to be in Ireland for very good reasons - she is sailing in the Café l'Or Transat - but I was delighted that Charlie was able to attend. Both of them are role models any sport would be grateful to have represent them.

"As always, the World Sailing Awards demonstrate the strength of our sport, but the depth of quality among the finalists this year was truly astonishing. Any one of them would have been worthy winners."