PRESS RELEASE

10 February 2023

Panam Sailing and the International Lightning Class Association are pleased to announce that the Lightning will once again be included in the program for Sailing at the Santiago 2023 Panam Games as a Mixed Gender Dinghy event. Panam Sailing welcomes the leadership and foresight of the International Lightning Class Association and has accepted its recommendation that at the 2023 Games the mixed crews in this event will be comprised of 2 women and 1 man, with the roles in the boat to be at the discretion of each team.

This decision ensures that the sport of Sailing will meet or exceed the recommendations for gender equity in the IOC 2020 plan, while enabling a 3-person boat to remain in the Panam Sailing Program. As Hugh Hutchison, President of the International Lightning Class Association said, “It is clear from recent actions of the IOC and World Sailing that equity in sailing is a prime objective going forward.  We indicated that the Lightning Class was willing to take concrete steps to address this goal.”

Fred Hagedorn, Acting President of Panam Sailing, confirmed Panam Sailing’s appreciation of the support provided by the Lightning Class, adding “The Lightning Class Association’s leadership on this issue will help grow participation in our sport for girls and women throughout Panamerica, and in so doing increases the relevance of Sailing in the Panam Sports family.”

Panam Sailing expects to finalize and announce all of the events for Sailing at the Santiago 2023 Panam Games in the coming weeks.

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For more information contact:

 Laura Jeffers (office@LightningClass.org) of the International Lightning Class, or

Fred Hagedorn (HagedornFH@gmail.com) of Panam Sailing