Malaysian Government funds Sailing Academies

by Bernama/Sail-World on 3 Nov 2006 Five sailing academies costing RM100 million (more than US$27 million) will be established as the Malaysian government strives to produce sailors of world-class standard.

Malaysian Youth and Sport Minister Datuk Azalina Othman announced the first was being built in Terengganu, (on the East Coast of the Malay Peninsular) followed by the others in Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak.

'A RM20 million allocation has been set aside for each academy to cover the construction cost and for equipment. They will be built on two-hectare sites in phases starting from the end of the year.

'All are expected to be completed before the start of the 2007 Monsoon Cup championship next year,' she told reporters after handing over a Youth and Sport Ministry cheque for RM3.5 million to T-Best Event Sdn Bhd, the organiser of the Monsoon Cup here, Thursday.

Azalina also officiated the ground-breaking ceremony for the country's first sailing academy at Pulau Duyong. Also present were the chairman of T Best Event Sdn Bhd, Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh and chairman of the State Culture, Youth, Sports and NGOs Committee, Din Adam.

She added the academies would also be equipped with hostel facilities and would adopt the dual approach of providing watersports training for youths as well as for public use.

Its clear the Malaysian Government is serious about sailing says four-time ISAF Match Racing World Championship title holder Peter Gilmour 'Within a few years, Malaysia will be competitive enough in match racing to run a National Match Racing squad and should be able to form its own match racing team by 2013,'

Palau Duyong will be the site of the second annual Monsoon Cup November 29 to 3 December 2006. Last year Gilmour won the event from New Zealand America's Cup sailor Russell Coutts, winning the final race in front of a crowd of at least 15,000 on Palau Duyong Basin.

The 2006-2007 World Tour will climax with Terengganu hosting the final event of the Tour Year.