Kathy Lammers has been elected as President of the Caribbean Sailing Association ©CSA

Antigua Sailing Week Organising Committee chair Kathy Lammers has been elected President of the Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) at the organisation’s Annual Conference in St Martin.

Lammers replaces outgoing Peter Holmberg, whose silver medal in men's Finn class at Seoul 1988 remains the United States Virgin Islands’ only podium finish at the Olympic Games.

Holmberg had led the organisation for three years and remains on the board as past President.

Judy Petz of the British Virgin Islands was appointed to the CSA Board as secretary along with St Lucia’s Mike Green, who will act as a vice-president.

“I am honoured to be voted in as CSA President and recognise the enormous contribution Peter has made to the association in his role as President over the past three years,” Lammers said.

“Our job as a board and an association is to build on the structure we now have in place and continue to look at opportunities to market our region to the world while building support for our youth programmes to ensure we have a strong base of young sailors entering the sport throughout the region.

“In addition, a refocus of the measurers’ group will see our rating rules continue to develop in order to keep up with state-of-the-art developments in the sailing industry.”

Kathy Lammers replaces former President Peter Holmberg (pictured) as the head of the CSA
Kathy Lammers replaces former President Peter Holmberg (pictured) as the head of the CSA

A meeting of the measurers group, who are tasked with providing a simple and fair handicap system for racing, was one of the main points of discussion at the event along with presentations on integrated waste management, leveraging sponsorships and how damage occurring in our coral reefs due to poor waste management can be rectified.

Sailors for the Sea, an organisation committed to the preservation of the ocean, had a strong presence at the conference as they delivered six sessions over the three-day event.

“The CSA and the Conference are a great fit for us as a partner because we are able to network with organisations right across the region over one weekend and gain feedback about what is needed to assist in sustainable practices not just during their events but all year round,” Sailors for the Sea chief executive Mark Davis said.

“This helps us understand how we can continue to move the Clean Regattas programme forward and make it as effective as possible.”

The 2016 CSA Conference is scheduled to take place in Antigua on October 21 to 22.