Optimist, Open Skiff, Youth & Olympic Sailing Blog

During our webinar with coach Agustin Ferrario, about « All You Need to Know about the Laser 4.7  » we looked at the key events to take place this upcoming year in North America. Contrary to Europe, where there is a well-developed and well-attended Europa Cup circuit, as well as a major European championship (with over 400 participants!) it’s more difficult to plan in North America. While the Laser 4.7 is definitively growing in Canada and the U.S., its development is still limited. Below is a list of events for 2020 (and late 2019) that we identified as most likely to attract significant fleets in the Laser 4.7. It is followed by another list of events that may also attract good fleets, but with less certainty. If you are seeking to participate in the World Championships, you will also need to compose with the selection system, which takes the form, for USA and CAN sailors, of a "Grand Prix." You can find the regulations at this link . See also our article about...

Here is a blog post about the Laser North American « Grand Prix » with the hope that it would start a reflection about possible improvements for future years. This Grand Prix is aimed at selecting North American sailors to events organized by the Laser class, such as the Laser 4.7 Youth Worlds (U18), Laser Radial Youth Worlds (U19) and the Laser U21 Worlds, taking place both in the Laser Standard for men and Radial for women. The Grand Prix web page, maintained by the North American class, can be found at this link .   Note: we will discuss the question of the Grand Prix at our upcoming webinar - make sure to register on Facebook and share with all those who might be interested . KEY ISSUES 1. Very Long Distances and High Costs Canada and the US are very large countries. The distances between events are huge. At the same time, the number of youth sailors is really low, compared to Europe for example. This is an impediment to youth sailing development in the L...

This is the second part of our article on the Laser 4.7 and the many reasons for youth sailors to choose it. If you have not yet read the first part, please do so by clicking here . XI. Role Models for the Youth Sailors A key element for youth sailors to pursue their career in racing is to be motivated, to be inspired. Often neglected, but critical in this process, are role models. And the Laser has several of them. Here is an anecdote for the purpose of illustrating this. About a year ago, at a big and amazing Optimist regatta on lake Garda, the Ora Cup Ora, after the racing, there was this concentration of young sailors at the club. It was a kind of line up, while there was no official event at that particular time. What was happening? These were youth sailors, from all over the world, waiting for their turn to get an autograph, from no-one else than Robert Scheidt, who was so kind to spend time with all those young sailors.  There was real electricity in the air. Those sail...

The US Team Trials were held on Key Biscayne on April 26-29. Maybe that would have been a great location for such trials to be held for the Canadian team, which is selected way too early and sometimes, as discussed elsewhere in this blog, at a totally innappropriate time. In 2017, the Canadian Team was selected for 2018, between 10 and 13 months prior to the actual IODA events. Most countries perform such selections months before the event - and even if the Canadian climate is obviously not helping, trials could easily take place in Florida or another place that can easily be reached from Canada. And in 2018, the Canadian sailors will be selected for the 2019 IODA events during the Canadian championships, in a blatant scheduling conflict with the 2018 Worlds. Find the results on this page. http://www.kbyc.org/Waterfront-Activities/Optimist_Team_Trials.aspx