Kingston, December 10, 2021 ÛÒ It is with great sadness that Sail Canada shares with the Canadian sailing community the passing of long-time sailing volunteer Ross Cameron last weekend. He was 78 years of age.
Ross Cameron started sailing off Toronto Island in his youth at the RCYC before moving to Kingston in 1967 to become an elementary school teacher, and then a school principal.
In Kingston, Ross continued to fulfill his passion for sailing with the Kingston Yacht Club, where he crewed and skippered on many boats including his beloved ÛÏTouch of ClassÛ Peterson-designed Chaser-29 sailboat. Ross sat on the club’s Board of Directors, was a Past Commodore and also a Life Member.
Ross was also closely involved with many aspects of CORK in Kingston, notably as Operations Chair of the organization. He was also named CORK Volunteer of the Year in 2005.
He was influential as an original member of the Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance, working with the Conference Board of Canada to adopt its Tourism Economic Assessment Model within the framework of sports tourism. He also incorporated Sport Kingston with the help of the Kingston Economic Development Corporation.
Ross Cameron was key in the development of the Ontario Sailing Race Management Training Program, and in 1992 he received a ÛÏspecial achievementÛ award for outstanding contribution to the field of fitness and amateur sports over a period of at least 10 consecutive years.
He was awarded the Governor General’s award for volunteer of the year in 1992 as well as the Sail Canada Rolex Sailor of the Year Award in 1995. He was inducted into the Kingston and District Sports Hall of Fame in the Builders category in 2018.
“Throughout his life, Ross had an enormous positive impact on sailing,” said Hugh McGugan, Chair of the Board of Directors at Sail Canada. “His work over the years has been key in helping to build and renew the foundations of competitive and recreational sailing in Canada. It will be a huge change for us not to have Ross Û÷on boardÛª. I know he will be missed and fondly remembered by all of us across the sailing community in Canada and beyond.”
Following RossÛª wishes, he has been cremated and is with his family. Due to COVID-19, a celebration of life will be postponed until we can all safely be together.
Read his obituary: https://jamesreidfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/13897/Ross-Cameron/obituary.html#tribute-start.
For those desiring, memorial donations can be made to www.amhs-kfla.ca/get-involved/donate/, The Kingston Food Sharing Project, or the charity of your choice.
