USST: Greg Fisher (USA) resigns as chief operating/business officer of the US Sailing Team; another

BRISTOL, RI (#1213) — This morning Jack Gierhart (USA), CEO of US SAILING, sent this email to his Board of Directors and staff announcing the surprise (to many) resignation of Greg Fisher (USA) from the leadership of the US Sailing Team only a year after Greg had been appointed....

Good Morning –

Please see the note from Greg.

We are disappointed to see him go and greatly appreciate his contributions to US Sailing, the sailing team and athletes over the past year. He has helped us in many ways including forging a stronger and more collaborative relationship with college sailing which we look forward to continuing.

We are currently considering his role and responsibilities and will be making adjustments in the short term while we evaluate the longer term approach that will support our athletes and key objectives and strategies as we look to both Tokyo and LA.

Greg is passionate about the sport, and we are all lucky to have him involved. We wish him all the best on his next leg, and know he will continue to have a positive impact on the sport.

Cheers,

Jack

Here's Greg's statement following his resignation that he has sent to a few friends and family, including your Ed. (we've been friends on and off the race course for nearly 50 years, as were his late, great father George Fisher and my dad):

Only a year ago, I took over as Chief Operating Officer for the US Sailing Olympic Program. After a great deal of reflection, I’ve made the very difficult decision to step down.

It was an honor to work with such an incredibly passionate staff and so many able volunteers and our hardworking team of sailors was a daily inspiration. I am so proud of our talented and focused athletes. They truly deserve support from all of us.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with sailors for my entire career, and I owe our sport a great deal. In my thirty-two years as a sailmaker, I learned how to design, market, sell, and service a product I truly believed in. During my eight years as the Director of Sailing at the College of Charleston, I helped our talented coaches, staff, and teams of incredible eager athletes win four overall National Championships.

I’m not yet sure what my next chapter will be, but I am certain it will involve helping sailors to learn and improve—because that’s what I thrive on. As a sailmaker, I admit, I would always put helping my customers above trying to sell more sails. As director of a very strong college sailing program, I found helping the team to sail just a little bit faster incredibly satisfying. At the recent Pan Am Games in Peru, I was thrilled to help coach Team USA to seven medals. And just last weekend, I worked with a couple of J/70 teams and truly enjoyed that as well.

At any level we learn best when we’re enjoying ourselves, and for me and my family, fun is an integral part of our chosen sport.

Thank you to US Sailing for the opportunity to work with the US Olympic Program. I’ll be rooting for all our talented US athletes and their coaches as they pursue medals in Japan next summer and onward in 2024 and 2028.

Greg Fisher

gregfishersailing.com

Obviously there is more to this story, and serious implications, which we will begin to unpack on tomorrow's TFE LIVE — as always on our Sailing Illustrated Facebook page at 1300 Pacific / 1600 Eastern / 2000 UTC.