Our Club was thrilled with the invitation to join the ICOYC in June of 2022. Our Club values very much align with the values of the ICOYC, and we welcomed this new opportunity to exchange and learn from many of the finest yacht clubs in the world.

As we prepared for our first ICOYC World Forum at Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, we weren’t really sure what to expect. At our last executive meeting before the trip, we told everyone that we would likely be back with plenty of interesting information to share.

This proved to be resoundingly true: each of the individual presentations was packed with so much information that we will be downloading the documents shortly to solidify our understanding. All of the subjects presented were highly topical for us, from the information on marketing and social networks and best yacht club management practices to the presentations on clean regattas and environmental stewardship. We will be delighted to share what we learned with our Executive Committee.

An important realization for both of us was that, large and small, all yacht clubs that strive for and achieve excellence share a set of similar challenges. The combined knowledge and experience wielded by ICOYC Members acts as a springboard for developing a club’s culture and delivering a valuable member experience.

We greatly appreciated the warm welcome extended to us, the supportive, relaxed atmosphere, and the opportunity to meet so many people from around the world. As female officers from our Club, we were also delighted to see how many women were in the room. We happily joined the newly formed ICOYC women’s group.

We would like to extend our grateful thanks to our hosts at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club for their incredible hospitality. Their execution of the event was flawless, the meals and presentation were spectacular, and their staff was attentive to every detail.

Thank you to everyone who made our experience so enjoyable. We look forward to being a valuable member of the ICOYC for years to come.