By Ben Callard
Last night Saturday the 14th August 2010 the President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge declared the Inaugural Youth Olympic Games open.
The Australian Youth Olympic Sailing Team consisting of Madison Kennedy (QLD), Mark Spearman (WA) and coach Ben Callard (QLD) have been in Singapore since the 9th August. They spent the first three days training off the Singapore National Sailing Centre after setting up their supplied equipment. The next few days Madi and Mark where allowed some free time to take advantage of the opportunities at the YOG Village. These include table tennis, pool, cinema, gaming room, dining hall, cultural activities, swimming pools, plus lots more. The rest of the 100 strong athletes who make up the Australian Team arrived on the night of the 12th. The 13th saw a lot of new people in the accommodation and village and the Australian Team visited one of the local Singapore Schools for a welcoming ceremony.
Madison and Mark now switch in to competition mode with the practice race tomorrow the 16th August. Their training since arriving in Singapore early (the first international team at the competition venue) has been well spent and will be very valuable as they head into a very competitive fleet. The fleet boasts multiple world champions in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions.
The conditions since arriving in Singapore have been good with relatively solid but shifty breeze between 5-15 knots, this unfortunately has created a terribly chop which on top of the current influence makes the sailing conditions difficult. With racing scheduled between 12:00 and 18:00 they are expecting that some races will have a storm influence which may add yet another factor into the equation.
Madi and Mark have improved out of sight, since they were last here as a team in June to participate in the Singapore National Championships. This is a true sign of their dedication and desire to perform and represent their country well.