90 sailors for Euromed championship

Ninety sailors from 11 countries have assembled in Malta to participate in the fifth Optimists Class Euromed Championship organised by the Malta Young Sailors Club, under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation.

The Optimist dinghy, the largest junior class in the world, is an internationally recognised one design single-handed craft, where only sailors under the age of 16 are eligible to contest.

The international racing fleet participating in the Malta five-day event, includes both male and female sailors with ages ranging from eight to 15, the youngest being Malta's Edward Fleri Soler and Ireland's Philip Brownlow, both eight years old.

Federico Magnano (Italy), Benji Borg (Malta) and Ludwig Svensson (Sweden), all 15, are the most senior sailors in the fleet.

Racing is being held at St Paul's Bay over a 4km course, starting this morning up till Tuesday. A good number of the foreign competitors here are top ranking international sailors and some tough racing is expected to characterise this championship.

The 11 countries represented are Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Tunisia, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom and Malta. The Malta contingent is made up of 33 sailors, comprising nine females. Jean Paul Fleri Soler is national coach.

Apart from the excellent turnout of international competitive representation, a milestone for the EuroMed is undoubtedly the team of reputable foreign officials making up the International Jury.

These are Hans Kurt Andersen (Denmark), Franco Battistin (Croatia), Luciano Giacomi (Italy) and Bill O'Hara (Ireland).

Both Andersen and Giacomi have judged Olympic Games and umpired America's Cup racing while O'Hara officiated the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The International Jury will be under the chairmanship of Peter Valentino and will also include Godwin Zammit.

Jovin Rausi is the chairman of the organising committee.

Another noteworthy guest at this year's EuroMed is Rene Kluin, president of the International Optimist Dinghy Association who is also an International Race Officer.

Kluin is generally known to travel only to world and continental championships. Yet, on this occasion, he came over to monitor the development of Optimist sailing in Malta, a fact which further uplifts the standing of the EuroMed.

Training clinic

The championship is also serving as an opportunity during which a Race Management course will be held. Such a course is an important experience in sailing today and is regarded as a much recommended stepping stone to attain International Race Officer status.

A Ugandan and Chinese have flown to Malta to attend this course that is being conducted by Anthony Lockett.

Lockett, who hails from Great Britain, has officiated in several high-calibre events such as the Olympic Games. He is also an advisor to the International Optimist Dinghy Association and chairs the Race Management Sub-Committee within the International Sailing Federation.

Further to running the training clinic, Lockett will also act as Race Officer to the EuroMed 2004.

The championship is being sponsored by Air Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Malta Maritime Authority, Medex Container Line, Merlin Computers and the Dolmen Hotel, the race headquarters.

John Ripard Jr, founder of the Malta Young Sailors Cub ten years ago and current Commodore, considers the EuroMed as an important contribution for the future of sailing in Malta.

"It is an acknowledged fact that many of the current Olympic sailors began their careers in an Optimist dinghy," he said.

"The EuroMed championship is not only steadily gaining overseas recognition but more importantly giving our budding sailors a taste of international competition on home waters."

Laser Class Regatta

Concurrently, with the Optimist Class Championship, the 2004 EuroMed will also comprise a Laser Class Regatta which has attracted a further 34 competitors from Italy, Malta and Bulgaria. These are over 16-year-old sailors, all past Optimists.