4:41 AM Fri 1 Jan 2010 GMT
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'Australian Optimist Sailing Team Members fly the flag at the Asian Championship -
OziOpti High Performance Clinic'
Janet Jerwood
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Optimists sailors from across the globe are gathering at Brighton and Seacliff YC in preparation for the start of the OZIOPTI Australian High performance clinic which commences tomorrow.
The clinic which boasts world renowned Optimist coaches has attracted 87 sailors from Denmark, UAE, Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, New Zealand, PNG, Singapore and USA.
The clinic precedes the Gulf of St.Vincent Regatta which is the 'warm-up' for the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) Oceania Championship , which will incorporate the Australian National Championship hosted by Adelaide Sailing Club. There are currently nearly 140 sailors registered for this Continental Championship which has also attracted sailors from Denmark, New Caledonia and Germany.
A large contingent of sailors have travelled across the Nullarbor from Western Australia to attend the event with a hope to take the National Trophy back with them. Optimists numbers are increasing rapidly in Australia as a whole and the opportunity to compete in an international event 'at home' will no doubt boost numbers.
Seven of the sailors competing in the Championship have just returned from Langkawi, Malaysia where they competed in the IODA Asian Championship. This event was an opportunity for the Aussies to compete against many of the top sailors in the world and to gain experience with the light and shifty conditions typical of Langkawi. Let's hope they won't need to use those newly learnt skills too much in the coming week or so!
Further information can be found at
www.sa2010.opti.org.au
by Janet Jerwood
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