World Youth Sailing Week - 10 days of great sailing

by Elena Giolai on 26 Mar 2014

Roberto Vuilleumier

At Easter, on Garda Trentino, 10 days of great sailing dedicated to young people, thinking about sport, tourism and promotion of the territory with approximately 1,800 racers expected will take place at the World Youth Sailing Week.

The sailing clubs of North Lake Garda, associated in Vela Garda Trentino with the goal of organizing international events that attract a very large number of athletes, coaches, and team managers at Lake Garda, in Trentino, organize as first event in 2014 the second edition of the World Youth Sailing Week, planned during the 10 days before Easter.

The idea of this great event, created last year to strengthen the already existing single events on the territory and all dedicated to very young people aged between nine and 18, sets up the world's largest international youth sailing event organized in Italy with the participation of about 1,750 young sailors from even 40 countries, with a number of attendance equal to 100,000 people, considering the whole days spent between workouts and races not only of racers, but also of young athletes’ team managers and parents.

Each club involved, among Riva del Garda, Arco, Torbole and Malcesine, will enhance the image of the territory along with that of sailing, a discipline that represents an increasingly important economic and tourist resource of the whole area. A synergy among clubs, (Circolo Surf Torbole, Circolo Vela Arco, Lega Navale italiana Sezione Riva del Garda and Fraglia Vela Riva), individual events and local authorities, which will take place from 11th to 20th April under the aegis of Vela Garda Trentino, which will coordinate the activities distributed in the sailing clubs that are based in one of the windiest places in the world and that all the world envies us.

From 11th to 13th April the 'double' preparatory to the acrobatic Olympic 49er Class, the 29er, hosted at the Circolo Vela Arco and committed to the organization of the 3^ 29er Easter Regatta, will mark the beginning of the regattas (from 12th to 14th April); about a hundred crews expected. The middle phase of the World Youth Sailing Week involves from 14th to 20th April 'single' helmsmen engaged in the same period in two different classes, in two parallel events: at the Circolo Surf Torbole the windsurfing youth will be engaged for the third Meeting Techno 293 (17th 20th April), the Propaedeutic class to the Olympics RS:X, where Italy has always excelled and represented an outstanding reference, thanks to the Olympic champion Alessandra Sensini, who created a youth movement worthy of her incredible victories.

As at every Easter at Fraglia Vela Riva the 32nd Meeting of the Garda Optimist will take place (17th 20th April), the largest single-class regatta in the world, already certified Guinness World Records with almost 1,200 helmsmen on the water with the small Optimist boat, the school boat for excellence, which goes on forming the great champions of tomorrow. A show that leaves astonished all persons who will come to Lake Garda, a stretch of water that for a few days turns into a carpet of small sails! The record regatta, which joins the very high number of competitors to the equally high number of countries that oscillates between 30 and 40 depending on the year, is above all a big party that represents for competitors and team managers a unique experience, to be kept in their most important memories!

Vela Garda Trentino and Fraglia Vela Malcesine have teamed up to organise for the second World Juvenile Sailing Week the regattas for the Juvenile Laser 4.7-Laser Radial class together with the Laser Youth Easter Meeting (16th-19th April)!

All the up and coming athletes of international sailing will be involved during the 10 days leading up to Easter with the youngest of them competing in the 32nd Garda Optimist Meeting at Fraglia Vela Riva. The bigger ones will be competing on the preparatory classes which will eventually lead to their respective Olympic classes. The 29er (in preparation for the Olympic 49er), will compete at Circolo Vela Arco. The Techno 293 (in preparation for the Olympic RS: X), at Circolo Surf Torbole and the Laser 4.7 and Radial (in preparation for the Olympic F Radial and M Standard), at Fraglia Vela Malcesine. This project brings together the clubs of Upper Garda which regards sailing not only as a vital resource for young people, but also as a vital resource for the tourism of Garda Trentino.

The project looks forward to the organisation of World Youth Sailing Week and Garda Trentino Sailing Week, the first leg of the EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup and CICO, the Italian Olympic Class Championships for the Laser S and R and RS: X M and F.