Released: Friday, 12 November 2010
Yachting Australia has announced the creation of the Youth Sailing Grand Prix, a new series developed to help create Australia’s next group of world and Olympic champion sailors.
The Youth Sailing Grand Prix is set to build a strong national competition that encourages youth participation, providing young sailors with the chance to race at a number of regattas around the country against strong opposition.
For the first time ever Yachting Australia will be awarding prize money for a youth event, up to $3,000 per winning crew, dependent on the class. This is designed to assist with the costs incurred campaigning with the winners required to use the funds to compete at further events.
The Youth Sailing Grand Prix will include seven classes with sailors competing in the Laser 4.7 and Laser Radial, 420, RS:X, Bic Techno, 29er and Hobie 16.
“We have created the Youth Sailing Grand Prix to provide Australia’s youth sailors with the opportunity to compete in a national series in strong fleets to assist in their continual development,” said Yachting Australia High Performance Director Peter Conde.
“Australia has a proud history in youth sailing, continually producing young sailors who compete at the highest level and the creation of the Youth Sailing Grand Prix is set to see this continue for many years to come,” he said.
Two Australian sailors who were successful at the youth level and have continued on to the Australian Sailing Team are Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen who are ambassadors for the Youth Sailing Grand Prix.
Outteridge and Jensen won Gold together in the 420 class at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in 2004 and following Nathan’s 49er campaign for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games the pair teamed up again in 2009. Since then they have been almost unstoppable, winning eight of the nine regattas they have sailed in together, including the 2009 49er World Championship.
“I think it’s a great idea to have a youth series like this,” said Outteridge. “When I was moving into the youth classes I remember driving up to Sail Brisbane to sail the 420s to get experience against the fleet up there and then head down to Melbourne to sail against as many other Australians as possible. We were one of the only teams that did some traveling to those events but we learnt a lot from it and it improved us a lot. You learn a lot from sailing at different venues, sailing against different people and if you’re serious about gaining selection to go overseas it’s the perfect thing to do.”
“The fact that Yachting Australia is putting up some prize money for the series is great,” said Outteridge. “Every event that you go to costs money and it’s good to see that there’s some added incentive to get there and know that if you do well you’ll get a bit of money to keep progressing through the sport.”
Jensen agreed with Outteridge that the development of the Youth Sailing Grand Prix is a positive move for youth sailing in Australia.
“The Youth Sailing Grand Prix will definitely be a benefit for young sailors traveling around Australia to race against strong competition in other states,” said Jensen. “The bigger the fleets you get the better off you’ll be down the track and the further you’ll develop with your sailing.
The series kicks off in late December with the individual class National Championships before moving to the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championships in early January.
Sailors then have the opportunity to compete at the Adelaide International Regatta in March, followed by the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Victorian State Championships a month later.
The focus then shifts to Western Australia for the Mandurah Easter Regatta before moving to Queensland for the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Queensland Youth Week in July. After a break racing resumes in October with the OAMPS Insurance Brokers New South Wales State Youth Championships before a final race to the line with Sail Sydney, the Hobart Showdown Regatta, Sail Melbourne and Sail Brisbane.
To be eligible to win the Youth Sailing Grand Prix competitors must sail in two mandatory regattas, their individual class Australian Championship and the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championship.
For the 2011 Youth Sailing Grand Prix athletes must also compete in two of the following events: the Sail Down Under Series regattas, the Adelaide International Regatta, OAMPS Insurance Brokers Victorian, New South Wales or Queensland Championships, the Mandurah Easter Regatta or the Hobart Showdown Regatta.
For more information on the Youth Series Grand Prix visit www.facebook.com/YouthSailingGP or follow the series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/YouthSailingGP.
The policy document for the series can be found on the Yachting Australia website.