Wales to host 2015 Optimist European Championships

by Karenza Morton on 22 Oct 2014 Wales, Great Britain will welcome the Olympic sailing stars of the future when it hosts the prestigious Optimist European Championship 2015 next July.

Around 250 of the World’s top young sailors from over 45 countries will travel to Pwllheli in North Wales for what is always one of the most fiercely contested events on the international junior racing calendar.

The Optimist class is widely regarded as the breeding ground for future international sailing success with four-time Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie and Wales’ own London 2012 470 class silver medalist, Hannah Mills, both former Optimist sailors. Over 90% of sailors at London 2012 raced Optimists as juniors.

Pwllheli will stage the Optimist European Championship from 17-24 July 2015, and this summer 64 youngsters from 11 nations, from as far afield as India, Hong Kong and Bermuda, put the venue to the test at the 2014 Optimist International Clinic (22-25 July) and Pwllheli International Optimist Regatta (26-27 July).

Bob Lowe, Chairman of the Events Committee in Pwllheli said: 'We are very much looking forward to hosting the Optimists in Pwllheli. Pwllheli is a special place where you are guaranteed a warm welcome. With the fabulous sailing waters of Cardigan Bay and a beautiful backdrop of the Snowdonia National Park everyone will have a memorable championships on and off the water.'

Tim Hall, Optimist Europeans Championship 2015 Event Director, said: 'With good conditions, sailors got to sample the excellent sailing at Pwllheli and will have gained some useful knowledge ready to return for the European Championship. All the feedback has been positive and the event team will be working hard over the next year to ensure an amazing European Championships in July 2015.'

The venue proved popular with the sailors too.

Yannis Saje, 14, from Austria, said: 'This was my first time in Pwllheli and it was really great. We had really good coaches and we learn a lot. I hope that what I learned will help me get good results in the Worlds this year.'

Aniketh Rajaram, 13, from India, said: 'This was my second time in Pwllheli, I was here two years ago for the British Nationals. I've trained in Ireland, Turkey, India and Qatar but this training was different, we focused a lot on tacks and starts, which is great.'

Molly Highfield, 15, from Hong Kong, added: 'I've been sailing for four years and I travel a lot to sail but this was my first time in Pwllheli. It was been a really nice week with decent facilities, great views and sunsets. The training was well run, organised, detailed and I can see it being very useful to me.'

Pwllheli is the gateway to some of the best sailing waters in Great Britain, with Cardigan Bay offering weak tidal streams and stable winds against the stunning backdrop of Snowdonia and the rugged North Wales coastline. Pwllheli has hosted many events for some of the biggest international racing classes, catering for more than 6,000 competitors. Each winter sees more than 1,500 squad sailors training at the venue.

The Optimist European Championship 2014 was held in Dublin in July, with Enzo Balanger (FRA) claiming the boys’ title and Ebru Bolat (ROU) the girls’ Event website