3 Young Sailors Heading To Youth Worlds In Turkey
[Written by Somers Cooper] The Bermuda Sailing Association has high hopes for the 3 man team it is sending to The 2010 Volvo Youth Worlds in Istanbul, Turkey this summer from 8 – 17 July.
James Anfossi, Jordan Saints (two man International 420 dinghy) and Jason Saints (Laser Radial dinghy) will be joining 341 sailors from 62 other countries to compete in the 40th Anniversary of this regatta which will determine the best young sailors in the world.
All three sailors established themselves as some of Bermuda’s best sailors at a young age in the Optimist Class and have represented Bermuda many times on the international stage at Continental and World Championships and earned the right to go to the ISAF Youth Worlds by winning their respective Bermuda National Championships in the 420 class and Laser Radial.
In addition, Bermuda was pleased to be one of 12 nations that were approved for Athlete Participation Programme (APP) funding support to attend the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. A key factor in the increasing number of nations competing at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship has been the ISAF Athlete Participation Programme (APP), which provides funding support to assist sailors attending the championship. Since its introduction in 2003, the APP has directly supported the participation of over 143 sailors and helped introduce 12 new nations to the championship. This year, 26 sailors from 12 nations will benefit from APP support.
Antonio Gonzalez de la Madrid, ISAF Competitions Manager, explains:
As in previous editions, the response to this year’s programme has been very large with a total of 56 applicants from 20 countries. ISAF had to employ strict criteria over the allocation of funding, focusing this year in South American and the Caribbean countries.
This fact and the record attendance at the 40th anniversary event are clear signs that the Championship is one of the most important dates of the year for Young Sailors.
In addition to subsidized travel and entry, the APP also provides free, top-level coaching during the championship. The APP sailors get the benefit of daily briefings from the World Youth Sailing Trust coach, whilst all competitors can attend the video debrief sessions held at the end of each day’s racing.
The nations to benefit from APP funding this year are Ecuador, US Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Paraguay, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St Lucia, Mexico, Nigeria, Columbia, Bermuda and Samoa.
