They will set sail for children
The races, which will start at 12:00 on May 24th off Çırağan Palace, go up to the buoys off Anadoluhisarı and Beykoz, turn south from there and finish off Çırağan, Moda or Caddebostan depending on the weather conditions, will be watched from the observation terrace in the Kabataş Erkek Lisesi garden. In addition, viewing points have been set up at Arnavutköy Akıntı Burnu and Emirgan to enable public viewing.
Yener Güreş, President of Istanbul Maritime Specialization Club, said, “After this meaningful organization, we will be very happy to be with you at the Award Ceremony to be held at Marmara Sailing Sports Club in Caddebostan on Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 19:00 to share the excitement of the race, applaud the winning teams and thank everyone who contributed to this great project within the scope of social responsibility.”
Yener Güneş's statements are as follows:
I would like to start with the following two sentences of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which are directives:
“Turkey, which is in the most beautiful geographical position and surrounded by seas on three sides, has the ability to raise the most advanced maritime nation with its industry, trade and sports. We must know how to benefit from this ability; we must consider maritime as the great national ideal of the Turks and achieve it in a short time.”
“Maritime will be understood not only as a transportation business but also as an economic business and shipyards, ships, ports and piers will be built, sea sports clubs will be established, protected and developed. Because: The border of a nation whose land is the sea is drawn by the limit of the power and talent of its people.”
Based on this directive;
* March 1, 2023: Our Director General put forward the idea of “organizing a Sailing Race in the Bosphorus”, which enabled us to set sail for new horizons with new hopes, and we started working.
* June 9, 2023: We started planning discussions with Marmara Sailing Sports Club.
* We evaluated that the main purpose of all these efforts is to contribute to the development of sailing in our country by encouraging our youth in particular, and to support the development of maritime in our country in general.
As a result of this evaluation, we decided to conduct two studies in parallel:
* First, to organize the Lions Sailing Cup Sailing Race in the Bosphorus in solidarity with the Marmara Sailing Sports Club and
* Secondly, to establish a specialized club on maritime issues for more comprehensive studies and goals, thus opening a new window to Lions as a service organization.
In addition to the Traditional Lions Clubs (Regular Clubs) with 1.4 million members worldwide, the foundation of the Istanbul Maritime Speciality Club, the first specialized club in the world in the Lions community on the subject of "maritime", was laid on June 6, 2024, and the establishment of our specialized club was registered by the International Lions Association as of the same date.
1. PURPOSE OF OUR CLUB;a. Our country, which is surrounded by sea on three sides, should become maritime and love the sea and seafaring,
b. To protect the life and natural balance in the seas that cover 71% of the globe (SDG-14),
c. To ensure that people and humanity benefit more and sustainably from the blessings of the sea,
d. To contribute to the development of social knowledge and awareness on the strategic importance of the sea and maritime affairs,
e. To serve our country, people and humanity.
PURPOSE OF THE 2ND LIONS SAILING CUP Bosphorus Sailing Competition;As we have just mentioned, while contributing to the development of maritime in our country in general, our aim is to support the development of sailing in our country by encouraging our youth in particular:
a. To promote the Bosphorus and our country and Turkish Lions on national and international platforms by announcing the competition to all Lions, especially those in European and Mediterranean countries, and inviting them to sail on the Bosphorus.
b. To show that the negative approaches based on false rumors about Lions, who have adopted Atatürk's principles, in some circles in our country are wrong,
c. To support the spread of sailing, which develops the spirit of unity and solidarity in our country, which has reached an important position in the international arena in sailing sports, and to help our sailors achieve greater success in the international arena,
d. The income from this race will be used for children in need and the disabled, and to contribute to the future of young people by combining sports with social responsibility.
e. To support the spread of maritime awareness so that our country can benefit more from the seas,
DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSES OF SAILING IN TürkiyeSailing is rapidly developing in Türkiye, especially in regions that are close to the sea. TYF and many clubs contribute to the spread of sailing and the training of young talents.
In the international arena, Turkey has reached an important position in sailing. Considering both its infrastructure and international successes, Türkiye's strong potential in sailing will enable it to achieve more success in the future.
As in the world, in our country it is usually possible to start sailing at the age of 6. Children between the ages of 6 and 15 can receive training in the Optimist class and participate in competitions. For older age groups, advanced classes such as ILCA, 420, 470 and Pirat are provided. This structure is parallel to the widespread practices of sailing worldwide.
Sailing, a sport that supports being in touch with nature and physical and spiritual development, attracts interest among children and young people. Various incentive methods are applied to increase interest in sailing. One of the aims of this competition is to encourage this development.
RACE WHEN WHEREThe race is planned to start in front of the historical Kabataş Erkek Lisesi in Ortaköy before noon on Saturday, May 24, 2025, and continue northwards, depending on the boat classes and wind strength, until offshore Sariyer Kireçburnu and finish approximately at the start line. However, which of the alternative race routes determined on the Bosphorus will be applied will be determined one day before the race, depending on the weather conditions and wind conditions.
Within the scope of the competition planned in coordination with MYSK as the 118T Management Area Federation and approved by TYF; permission procedures regarding the suspension of ship traffic in the Straits at certain hours are ongoing. Another feature of this race is that it is one of the legs of the MYSK - TAYK trophy consisting of three races.
It is planned to set up a viewing terrace in front of Haydarpaşa High School and at Arnavutköy Akıntı Burnu to watch the race. It is planned that the footage of the competing yachts will be shot by drones or GoPro Action cameras mounted on some boats and broadcast in real time. In addition, support will be provided for press cameramen to shoot and broadcast from the sea and land.
Apart from the main sponsor's logo or name being published in various media, it can be placed on the boats in three ways:
* Firstly, the main sponsor logo will be on the side number stickers attached to the starboard and port bows of each boat.
* Secondly, the main sponsor pennants measuring 3 x 75 cm, which will also include the main sponsor logo, will be displayed on the backstays of all boats participating in the race from the port exit to the start line.
* Thirdly, sponsors will be able to display their logos on the sails or on the sides of their own boats or the boats they rent during the race.
WHO WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE RACE?According to preliminary information received, more than 50 boats from IRC, SportsBoat and support (or touring) classes are expected to participate in the race.
Our efforts to establish volunteer sailing teams within the Lions organization in order to popularize the sport of sailing and make it popular in society continue. In this context;
* With the support of MYSK, basic and advanced sailing trainings are organized and efforts are made to ensure that volunteers who participate in these trainings also participate in the race. This initiative is aimed at encouraging and making people love the sea.
* Apart from this, the Istanbul Maritime Specialized Lions Club sailing team and similar formations will receive ambitious training to participate not only in the Lions Sailing Cup but also in other races and will aim for first place.
From the beginning, it was aimed to have at least one women's team among the teams that will participate, but it is being difficult. This desire of ours will be realized sooner or later.
In addition, since this race will be a National Race that will allow foreigners, including Lions from Europe, to participate, foreigners will also need to obtain a license from Türkiye if they participate in the race.
WE COMPETE FOR CHILDRENThe aim of the slogan is to support children in need. The following opportunities are aimed to be achieved with the opportunities provided by this race:
* Developing sea sports facilities for children and young people in coordination with local governments and public institutions,
* To provide opportunities for low-income children to do water sports, to love the sea and to become competent sailors in the future,
* Creating opportunities to increase the number of our physically disabled sailors who will have such rankings as second and third in the world in para-sailing in the future,
* Creating opportunities that will contribute to the therapy of mentally disabled children, such as the sensory development (Ergotherapy) room that was previously built by Tarabya Lions Club for EÇADEM,
* To contribute to the construction of nurseries, private schools and similar facilities built by the 118T District Federation for the children of low-income families whose mothers have to work.
AWARD CEREMONYThe awards will be presented to the athletes who won the races, which are expected to be full of excitement and competition, at a ceremony to be held at the Marmara Sailing Sports Club on Sunday, May 25 at 19:30. This award ceremony will be an enjoyable event where the club spirit will be strengthened with the participation of club members and guests after the race.
VISIONARY APPROACHThis year, our work, which started with the Lions Sailing Cup Bosphorus Sailing Race, is aimed to enable the Istanbul Maritime Specialized Lions Club and similar structures to operate in all areas of the sea in the future. Conducting research and creating public awareness on the tsunami threat that may occur as a result of a possible volcanic eruption that occurred in Marmara in the past and recently on October 30, 2020 in the Sığacık port of the Seferihisar district, and that may occur in the near future on the island of Santorini, and the possible Istanbul earthquake, are also within our area of interest and responsibility. Having a habit of looking at events on a global scale and with a visionary approach, Lions' future research and work will not be one-year projects, but rather medium and long-term sustainable projects.
I hope that this Lions Sailing Cup Bosphorus Sailing Race, which we organized with a visionary perspective together with Marmara Sailing Sports Club, will be beneficial to our country and sailing sport, and I present my respects.
Cumhuriyet
