Russians are back... to better their record

December can be -10ºC in Russia, -3ºC in Lithuania, -4ºC in Sweden, -2ºC in France and 3ºC in the UK but the youngsters hailing from these countries travelling to Malta to race in the Euromed Malta Championship, are bound to experience a milder climate which should make their participation a more pleasant and enthusiastic occasion.

In fact, this year's Euromed will be held between December 17 and 21 with Mellieħa Bay once again providing the enchanting racing backdrop.

The Malta Young Sailors Club (MYSC), in partnership with the Kunsill Malti għall-iSport and under the auspices of the Malta Sailing Federation, are the organisers of this international event which this year is sponsored by Atlas Insurance and Air Malta.

As in previous years, besides the Optimist Class, competitive racing will also be held for the Laser 4.7, the Laser Radial as well as the Laser Standard dinghies.

In Optimists, the fleet will be divided into the Cadet Class and the Open Class. The Optimist sailing dinghy, recognised as the largest junior class in the World, with over 160,000 skippers in more than 100 countries, is an internationally-renowned one design single-handed sailing craft.

It is the only yacht approved by the International Sailing Federation exclusively for sailors under 16. Its uniqueness is such that, at the 2008 Olympics, 85 per cent of medal-winning skippers were former Optimist sailors.

There will also be the junior course for the younger Optimist sailors - even eight-year-olds - who are quite new to racing as they only started their sailing experience last summer.

A significant factor linked to this event is the sport tourism concept where these foreign young sailors, in most cases accompanied by family members, are flying to Malta to participate in a pleasant and challenging event while at the same time spending part of their Christmas holidays on our islands.

An initiative which should be supported and encouraged by all, say, the like of the Mellieħa Local Council, who recently proclaimed their interest to further promote the village as a tourist destination, and also by the Malta Tourism Authority.

The official base for this championship will be the Seabank Hotel, practically overlooking the racing arena, while the Race Office will be located at the Latino Punto Rena Restaurant (ex-Tunny Net) with the use of the nearby launching slipways.

At the time of writing, there has been confirmation from 10 Russian sailors, three from Sweden, nine from the UK, two from Lithuania, and a French boy too.

There will also be 15 competitors from Sicily, made up of four from the Circolo Velico Kaukana, a club situated just off Ragusa, and six Optimist sailors and five Laser 4.7 from the Circolo Velico Reggio.

However, the Russian presence is of great significance as they will certainly strive to make this 10th edition a special 'one'. Last year, they returned home with second and third places overall as Ella Fleri Soler clinched victory by a mere point at the expense of Maxim Nikolaev. Alexander Shelting was third.

As the Euromed is an international regatta, the organisers must appoint an international jury which this year is made up of Lorenz Walch (Germany), David Lees (Great Britain) and Manuel Santos de Silva (Portugal), under the chairmanship of international judge Peter Valentino. This jury is being assisted by national judges Jovin Rausi and Godwin Zammit.

It is interesting to follow the performance of a number of sailors who will be contesting their first Euromed in the Laser 4.7 Class as they have now reached the Optimist Class age limit - 15 years old.

These include Thomas Zammit Tabona, Euromed winner in 2006 and 2007 and a GSSE gold medallist, Fleri Soler, last year's Euromed winner, and Abigail Fenech and Thomas Sammut Alessi. The Laser 4.7 class hosts sailors between the ages of 16 and 18.

The Euromed kicks off with the registration of competitors on December 17. In all, 12 races are scheduled and these will be spread over four days.