Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race
...it can be a real tipping point for sailors in making that mental commitment to following the Olympic dream...
Friday 9 July 2010, 20:30 GMT
Today the 344 young sailors at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship had a second day of practice racing on the waters of Istanbul.
All three courses were set to give the competitors a chance to get ready for the five days of racing ahead.
For some of the athletes at the Championship this will be their first experience of a World Class sailing event, but many others are chasing medals at this regatta, to progress their sailing career.
Eight nations have sent a full compliment of sailors in each class, including the French team, last year's winner of the Volvo Trophy for overall best team. Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Brazil, Denmark and Italy have also sent all 12 sailors, increasing their chances of winning the Volvo Trophy.
Duncan Truswell, one of three RYA support staff accompanying the British sailors to Istanbul, believes the youngsters should be looking to take as much from the experience as they possibly can.
"The Youth Worlds is quite different to what most of the sailors are used to; it is a huge event and it offers a unique insight and flavour of the Olympic multiclass experience on a large scale," said Truswell. "There is no better regatta for youngsters to learn at and it can be a real tipping point for sailors in making that mental commitment to following the Olympic dream."
Runners and Riders List
High Performance Dinghy Open - 29er
The 29er will be raced as an Open class for the first time this year, which means girls and boys can either sail together as mixed crew and helm, or girls compete against the boys in the same fleet. There are 18 entries in this highly competitive high performance dinghy.
Australia has sent a strong team this year including Byron White and Thomas Koerner who dominated the 29er fleet in their selection event. White has competed at the event before."I represented Australia at the Youth Worlds in Denmark in 2008 and it's one of the best experiences you could have at this age," said White. "You meet great people from all different parts of the world, with the same passion, sailing.""Apart from the cultural experience and meeting new friends, the racing is the most exciting," he said. "The high level of skill, knowledge and passion to win makes for some of the best racing youth sailors will do."
Having just finished fifth at the 29er European Championships only a few days ago, the young kiwi pairing of Alexandra Maloney and Sam Bullock arrived in Istanbul in good shape. Other strong performers at the 29er Europeans were Gael Jaffrezic and Julien Bloyet of France who finished eighth overall and the British crew of Henry Lloyd Williams and Sam Batten, who finished tenth in a fleet of over 100 boats.
Boy's and Girl's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
The Laser Radial class has the most entries in Istanbul with 54 entered in the Boy's event and 49 in the Girl's event.
The US team failed to take home any medals last year in Brazil but intends to make amends this year with a team of eleven sailors. Of these, Erika Reineke, sailing in the Laser Radial class, is currently ranked 32 in the ISAF fleet rankings and came an impressive 19th in the ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta in Miami in January.
One of a list of strong Kiwi sailors, Thomas Saunders from New Zealand is also a strong contender, taking the Championship title at the Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland Regatta and the Laser Radial National Championship.
Ben Franklin typifies many of the young sailors racing in their first youth championship. He is looking forward to the opportunity to represent Australia for the first time in a major international regatta."This is my first time overseas so I'm looking forward to travelling to a new country and meeting new people but most of all looking forward to racing in such a competitive fleet," said Franklin. "I expect to learn a lot both on and off the water and I'm hoping for a solid result."
Two Person Dinghy Boy's and Girl's - 420
The bronze medallists from 2009, Benjamin Grez and Carlos Vergara of Chile are back to compete in the Boy's division to try and take two more steps up the podium. They will be racing against a competitive field of 35 other teams.
Alexandra Maloney from New Zealand narrowly missed a bronze medal last year to finish fourth in the Girl's 420 class, however she went on to win the Open Women's International 420 World Championship in Italy the following week. This year Maloney is sailing at the helm of the 29er with Sam Bullock as crew. Fellow Kiwi Logan Dunning-Beck returns to race in the Boy's 420 class in which he placed eighth last year.
Singapore won a gold and bronze medal in last year's ISAF Youth Worlds and is back this year with some very competitive sailors, especially in the 420 class. At the recent Kiel Week regatta with a fleet of 200 boats, the Singaporeans came first, fourth and fifth. Of these, the fourth place finishers Chuang Yang Ko and Andrew Paul Chan will be strong contenders in the Boy's 420 fleet whilst Rachel Lee, who came fifth in Kiel, will be racing with Benita Chua in Istanbul. The Singaporeans enjoyed the light conditions encountered in Kiel and will no doubt be hoping for similar circumstances in Istanbul.
Multihull Open - Sirena SL16
The Open Multihull is one of the smaller classes racing in Istanbul with 12 entries but the quality of the sailing talent is high.
Amongst the strong line up, Adam Butler and Nikki Boniface from Great Britain have shifted their focus to the Sirena SL16 catamaran for this year's event as the multihull changes from the Hobie 16 in which they finished fifth last year.
Luca Marsaglia from Italy who last year claimed the bronze medal in the Hobie 16, returns to race the new catamaran class.
Matt Whitehead from South Africa is no stranger to the SL16 catamaran, he grabbed the silver medal at the Volvo Youth Worlds in 2008 in Arhus and returns this year with a new crew, Calene Loubser.
Boy's and Girl's Windsurfer - RS:X
The Israeli and Polish teams were dominant in the RS:X Youth European Championships which finished only days ago in Sopot, Poland. Omer Sofer (ISR) narrowly missed out on the gold medal, having to settle for silver but has come straight to Istanbul to compete for the Youth Worlds title.
Omer is likely to face stiff competition from Michalis Malekkides of Cyprus who claimed the silver medal last year and aims to go one better at this event.
The British team has nine sailors making their ISAF Youth Worlds debut whilst the most experienced team member, Isobel (Izzy) Hamilton, competes for her third consecutive year. In Brazil last year she scooped silver and as the RS:X girls Youth World Champion was invited to join Skandia Team GBR development squad training alongside Olympic bronze medallist, Bryony Shaw.
Hamilton's team mate, 17 year old Sam Sills has also dominated the Techno junior windsurfing scene winning the World, European and National Crowns last year and will be a strong contender in the boy's windsurfing competition.
Another one to watch in the Girl's RS:X class is Italian Catherine Fogli, who was ninth in Brazil last year and likely to be a strong candidate in Istanbul.
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