A lifelong sailor, Canadian Lynn Watters participated in Lightning Class events before competing in the Dragon Class at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympic Games, where he finished 5th out of 27 nations and 11th out 23 countries respectively. Despite many competitive successes, however, he was best known in the sport from the administrative side, beginning with his co-founding of the Saint Lawrence Valley Yacht Racing Association in Quebec, Canada shortly after World War II. He was made a member of the International Yacht Racing Union’s (later the International Sailing Federation) Racing Rules Committee in 1971 and eventually ascended to the chair position in 1979, where he remained for over 10 years. He also served as a racing judge at numerous international events, including the Olympics, and worked with the Canadian Yachting Association’s Rules and Appeals committees for three decades. He was awarded the ISAF’s highest honor, the ISAF Gold Medal, in 1990 for his work in shaping the rule and judging structures of international yacht racing.
Canada