ISAF Youth Sailing Worlds 2014-Australian Youth Sailing Team confirmed

by Cora Zillich on 14 Feb 2014 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship 2014 - The Yachting Australia Board has officially confirmed the 2014 Australian Sailing Youth Team to contest the 44th edition of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Portugal this July.

The event will be held in Tavira, Portugal from July 12 to July 19 2014 in eight classes with 12 young Australian sailors and three coaches selected to represent their country.

The 2014 Australian Sailing Youth Team, including three appointed coaches, was officially selected at the Yachting Australia Board meeting on 11 February 2014, following the preliminary team announcement at the 2014 Australian Youth Championship in January (see announcement of 13 January 2104 click here).

Australia has a proud history at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships and with only two athletes returning from last year’s team, the 2014 Australian Sailing Youth Team will be a young and new-look team representing five states.

'Historically, many of those who compete in the ISAF World Youth Championships go on to participate in and succeed at Olympic and World Championship level,' said Yachting Australia’s Performance Director Peter Conde. 'Australians who have done this include Elise Rechichi who won two Youth World Championships before her Olympic Gold medal in 2008 and Nathan Outteridge who won three Youth World Championship Gold medals before winning two 49er World Championships. And the majority of the last couple of year’s Youth Sailing Team members have moved up into our Australian Sailing Squad. I believe that we’ve selected a promising team that can follow in the footsteps of these sailors.'

Ten athletes will make their Youth Worlds debut for Australia in Portugal, after strong performances to qualify for the team.

Tasmanian Jock Calvert is one of the returning athletes to the team and will be competing his second World Championship in the 293 windsurfing class. Lara O’Brien from Queensland will be racing the female windsurfer.

'It’s cool to be part of the more experienced members. Last year there were only two people who had not been to a Youth Worlds so this year it’s the opposite and I’m sure it will be fun and we’ll all learn a lot', Jock Calvert said about being one of two returners to the team.

Having been part of the Australian Sailing Youth Team last year, seventeen-year-old Lachlan Gilmour (WA) will be one of the veterans on the team and will add his experience from last year’s World Championship to the team in the 420 class together with helm Emerson Carlberg (WA).

'I’m very excited and happy we will be going to the Youth World’s as I have been looking to go for a while and it’s fantastic to get the opportunity to go this year', said fifteen-year-old Carlberg about the opportunity to race at his first World Youth Championship.

Also joining the team for Portugal is 16-year old Laser Radial sailor Alistair Young (WA), while Victorian Anna Philip will race the female Laser Radial.

New South Welshmen Jim Colley and Shaun Connor will be representing Australia in the 29er class, while Victorians Michelle Bursa and Chelsea Haynes secured their spot in the Australian Sailing Youth Team in the Hobie 16 multihull fleet after taking the overall win at the Australian Youth Championship.

The team will be supported in their preparation and during competition by three experienced coaches, Brendan Todd (NSW), Belinda Stowell OAM (WA) and Larry Cargill (NSW).

South Australian State performance coach Brendan Todd will be the team leader and RS:X coach. He has success as an athlete and coach at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships. Todd competed at the event in 1989 and 1991 in the windsurfer class, winning Silver in 1991, and returning as a coach in 2000, 2001 and 2005 and 2013. Todd also represented Australia at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games where he finished eighth and at two Olympic Games as a coach.

Belinda Stowell will join the team as 420 and multihull coach. She has been the State Sailing Performance Coach at WAIS since November 2004 and was a coach for the Australian Youth Sailing Team from 2005 to 2007. She coached Carrie Smith and Ella Clark to their Gold medal in the 420 class in 2013.

Stowell won the Gold Medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in the 470 class.

New South Wales Sailing Performance Coach Larry Cargill will be the 29er and Laser Radial coach. He was coach of the Youth Team in 2008 and 2013 and brings a wealth of experience to the Australian Sailing Youth Team as well.

The ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship will see sailors under the age of 19 from around the world descend on Tavira in Portugal to compete in eight events with Australia represented in each, it’s the largest youth sailing regatta in the world and in 2013 350 sailors from 61 nations competed in the event.

The Australian Sailing Youth Team will prepare at their individual home locations as well as in a joint training camp at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Brisbane just prior to Sail Brisbane in April (17-21 April 2014). The Laser Radial and 420 boys and girls will be the guests of the Japan Sailing Federation in the annual Australia-Japan Youth Sailing Exchange in March (22-31 March 2014). This will be the third year of this exchange and is highly valued by both countries.

 2014 Australian Sailing Youth Team