AST members for Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta

by Nicole Browne on 28 Feb 2008
Some of the best sailing talent in the world will be on Sydney Harbour this weekend as athletes and coaches from the Australian Sailing Team take part in the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta on Saturday 1 March and Sunday 2 March. Many of the athletes are swapping their small competition class boats to take their place amongst yacht crews.

Taking time out from the preparations for upcoming international competition and the Olympic Games, sailors taking part in Sydney’s largest sailing regatta include:

- Double World Laser Champion Tom Slingsby on Sydney 38 Transfusion

- Men’s 470 skipper Malcolm Page, 49er skipper Nathan Outteridge, Laser Radial coach Michael Blackburn and Australian Sailing Team Head Coach Victor Kovalenko on Farr 40 Estate Master

- 49er crewmember Ben Austin and on Sydney 38 The Tavern

- Finn sailor Anthony Nossiter on his father’s Adams 10 Sirius

- Women’s 470 crewmember Tessa Parkinson on Sydney 38 Rush

The Australian Yngling crew of Krystal Weir, Karyn Gojnich and Angela Farrell will also take part in the Yngling class of the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, fresh from their silver medal in the World Yngling Championships in Miami.

Women’s 470 skipper Elise Rechichi and RS:X (windsurfer) representative Jessica Crisp, will be taking part in the Audi ‘Learn To Sail’ program and mingling with guests watching the action.

“The Australian Sailing Team are a diverse group of sailors, many of whom regularly crew on Farr 40 and Sydney 38 yachts and we have several very experienced and distinguished yacht racers like Anthony Nossiter who has competed in the Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup and several Rolex Sydney Hobart races, Nathan Wilmot and Iain Murray who has three America’s Cup and five Sydney to Hobart Races under his belt,” said Australian Sailing Team Director Michael Jones.

“Being involved in the Audi Sydney Regatta gives the athletes a chance to do some cross-training, hone their communications skills in larger crews and keep things fresh and varied in their lead-up to an intensive international competition schedule.

“It’s also an opportunity for competing crews and regatta guests alike to meet the sailors who will be representing Australia at the Olympic Games in August.”

Following this weekend’s regatta racing, the Australian Sailing Team will gather in a team camp in Sydney on Monday 3 March and Tuesday 4 March. With European, World Championships and several major international regattas on the agenda for the coming months, the camp will provide crucial time to finetune individual programs and team strategies ahead of a long five months of competition in the lead up to the Olympic Games.

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The Australian Sailing Team is the official national representative sailing team and is comprised of the best Olympic class sailors in Australia. Selected annually, athletes qualify for inclusion in the team by finishing in the top ten at an Olympic Class-World Championship, or be identified as having the potential to do so within a two year period. The Team is generously supported by the Federal Government through the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Olympic Committee and is a Tier 1 Australian Institute of Sport program. The Team is managed by Yachting Australia, a member of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the Australian national authority for sailing. The Team’s goal is to develop talent and win Medals for Australia in Beijing 2008 and beyond.