Michael's Contribution

July 2021

Michael’s contribution.

The temperature is rising, the ice is getting thinner, things are starting to get dire. You look around for the adult…only to realize that you are The Adult. That is where I am right now.

July has been a month that will impact on all of us for a long while to come. I am part of many clubs and sailing WhatsApp groups, and follow an unhealthy amount of sailing on social media. The number of references to people critically ill, and the sad news of those who did not make it, was starting to bear down on me…. and then we were plunged into a period of unprecedented violence in parts of our country.

Our situation was epitomized for me, when, in conversation with a member of our sailing community, I heard stories of her trying to sleep amongst the sounds of gunshots, waking to realize that there was little chance of getting supplies, and less of seeing water and electricity, and then hearing that the only person that she had ever known as mother, had passed. I heard the horror story of her existence from the double vaccinated perspective of my warm and safe home on the outskirts of a town – where we struggle with the spelling of insurrection. I realized then that privilege takes on many forms, and that each blessing that has been bestowed on us, is a privilege that we need to acknowledge and be grateful for. Each blessing is a kindness that we should try to reciprocate.

How does this fit in with my role as the president of a sports federation? I believe that it is my duty to stand up, now, and give direction for the future in a post-COVID and post-insurrection world. But, neither the COVID, nor the insurrection are necessarily things of the past. We need to manage our way through the remnants of these two blights, and any others that may be hiding in the wings.

Luckily, we need not rely on my moral compass when plotting our course. The SA Sailing constitution sets out the basic course we need to follow. Our job is to set ourselves up for success in the different currents and winds we will encounter while trying to sail that course.

This is where we start in our voyage plan – in our constitution:

We, the sailors of South Africa, join hands in the firm conviction that wind-driven sport has a unique contribution to make to nation building and the transformation of society… welcoming of all South Africans, whatever their race, gender, colour, creed, religious beliefs or sexual orientation and whether they are able-bodied or physically or mentally challenged.

The provisions of this Constitution are founded upon and shall be implemented and administered in the recognition of human dignity, equality, the advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, non-sexism, the right of freedom of association, the supremacy of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996, the rule of law and good corporate governance.

The above are extracts from the preamble to our constitution, that give us a general direction to steer, but Article 7 contains the specific imperative to “encourage and facilitate conflict resolution, the promotion of reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between the various peoples of South Africa;” and that is where I need to be leading this federation.

We, as a sailing community have started already. I have seen reports of clean-ups, feeding schemes and personal assistance. Acts of kindness and heartfelt messages of sympathy. My heart swelled with pride at being part of such a caring community.  Long may these moments continue.

But there is more. The pandemic forced us into isolation, and then set us up in new groupings – the vulnerable, the vaccinated, and so forth. It gave us new reasons not to mix. It gave us new reasons for suspicion and fear as we all withdrew into our safe places. Insidiously, the pandemic separated us.

Just as we were coming to grips with the insidious isolation, a very direct assault on our unity was unleashed. For some of us, it was very, very close to home. For others of us, it plunged us into a new level of uncertainty and suspicion, as we watched and waited, and in some cases prepared for the assault to reach us. The separation, this time was not insidious. It was active. It was driven. It was purposeful.

It was not successful.

The above has, however, shown us just how tenuous our unity is – be it on a national scale, or just in our sport.

It has shown how divisive a long-standing pattern of behaviour can be, and how damaging an ill-considered flare up can be.

If our country’s peace is somewhat tenuous, how safe is the future of our sport?

What do we do? Where to next?

The first step, and the most important step, is one that everybody can do, and is one that costs absolutely nothing. The first step is to be aware. The first step includes the understanding of where we are in achieving the imperative contained in article 7 of our constitution, but also includes the understanding of where others in the community of sailors are right now, both physically and emotionally. We need, now, more so than at any other time in our 74-year history, to talk to one another. We need to swop “Howzit” for “How are you?” and then take the time to hear the whole answer.

We need to be aware of, or make ourselves aware of, who our community is – of the people that comprise our community. When we say “us”, who are we referring to? Us, is everybody. There is no them right now, only us. Our awareness of our community will bring into focus the need for us to sustain and strengthen this community. We need to be aware of the value that lies in the unity of that community, be it unity in terms of different disciplines, different geographic locations, different sailing classes, different privilege and background and even differing abilities. Once our awareness is firmly in place, we need to make sure that others in our sailing community share this level of awareness and start believing in the value of our unified sailing community.

The next step is to convert our universal awareness into action. Each of us, as individual members of our sailing community are best placed to know what action we can take. Each club has a different perspective, as is the case with each district and region. It is vitally important, that each of us does something, no matter how little or seemingly insignificant, because in that action of doing something towards the common good, we each cement our place, and in doing so the place of others, in this greater sailing community. Even if your resources only allow for you to spread the word of the value of the unified community, your positive message will be heard, and a new value chain will come into existence.

What should we not do?

We need to be careful not to act out of a sense of guilt or political correctness. We need to act with a clear vision of the future strength and unity of our sailing community. What we do, needs to have a real value, and needs to be done in the correct spirit. If we have been blessed, let us acknowledge our blessings. If those blessings place us in a position to contribute to the common good, let the contribution be made in the right spirit.

Let us choose actions that are for the common good. In the end, we will all benefit immeasurably from the advancement of our community. Let us steer clear of contributions that are too closely aligned to our personal goals and ambitions.

Never ask: “What does South African Sailing do for me?” Not only does that adversely affect my blood pressure, the question simply indicates to your peers that you have no capacity to understand the concept of community, or the role that you can play in the advancement of that community.

Let us review our old habits. Let us cast aside the concept of righteous indignation being our default setting. The expression of your righteous indignation only attracts attention for a short while, but the damage done is sometimes very longstanding. Let us work actively, but quietly, towards finding solutions to real issues in the interests of the whole community, rather than turning each issue into a potential song and dance act. Let us turn that corner in the bar where the old white guys commiserate with each other into a point where the huge amount of intellectual sailing capital that they have, is transferred to a new generation, together with a spirit in keeping with the concepts enshrined in our sailing constitution.

Can we see this moment as a threshold into the new and unified sailing community? Dare this be the moment where we reassess our goals and ambitions and make the subtle shift towards prioritising the community in the interests of each component of that community and in turn every individual involved in each of those components.

In the end, we will reach the same individual goal, but if we achieve our goals with the good of the community as one of our priorities, everybody wins.

And we leave behind us a very special sport accessible to a whole new generation of sailors.

 That’s what this “Adult” was thinking.

Thank you.

Michael.