Youth Sailing Champs - Boosting youth sailing, Sailability programme

by Icarus Sailing Media on 28 Feb 2015 Fish & Co. Youth Sailing Championships – Fish & Co. and the Singapore Sailing Federation continue to join hands to boost youth sailing in 2015, through the partnership in the third annual and the new Sailability programme. Best of top youth sailors from 11 countries to sail into Singapore for third annual Fish & Co. In conjunction with SG50, new initiative, Sailability, is launched to empower disabled.

In the biggest competition to date, the Fish & Co. Youth Sailing Championships 2015 counts over 400 of the brightest sailing talents from Singapore and 10 other countries such as Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand, each bringing the best of their gameplay to Singapore’s waters for this year’s high­-stakes competition (See Annex A).

This four­-day sailing meet, running from 18 – 21 March 2015, will see the region’s top youth sailors vying for top spots in the highly­-anticipated competition. For Singaporean youths, the annual championships serves as a qualifying platform for the 28th SEA Games in Singapore this year, and the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships 2015 to be held in Langkawi, Malaysia, in December.

'We’re thrilled to have Fish & Co. return as the title sponsor for the Youth Sailing Championships for the third year running. It is heartening to see corporate organisations like Fish & Co. so committed to nurturing young sailors and we believe that this year’s championships will truly shine simply because of the quality of the youth sailors coming from all over the world to compete and also build friendships for the future,' says Mr. Tan Wearn Haw, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Sailing Federation.

Guest­-of­-honour Mr. Ng Ser Miang, International Olympic Committee member and Singapore Sailing Federation patron, will grace the finals and awards presentation ceremony of the Championships.

A public carnival will also be held on Finals day to celebrate the coming together of the young sailors from all over the world and their supporters, and as a fun complement to the energy and exuberance of the entire event (see Annex A).

Fish & Co. SG50 Initiative: Sailing for the Disabled (Sailability)

In conjunction with SG50, Fish & Co. has spearheaded an initiative in which it has partnered with both the Singapore Sailing Federation and the Singapore Disability Sports Council to run a seven–week course, Sailability (Sailing for the Disabled). The course, which began in January, encourages disabled youths to gain confidence and empowerment through sailing; a sport which is often perceived as impossible for the physically disabled. It also sees the inclusion of a tailored 'Mentoring Week' which had abled sailors from the Singapore Sailing Federation mentoring the participants from Sailability. Volunteers from Fish & Co.’s head office were also a part of the course, providing on­-ground assistance and support to those involved.

'We wanted a meaningful initiative that would encapsulate the essence of the power of hopes and dreams, especially in the spirit of SG50. We’ve come so far together as a nation and Fish & Co., as a successful home­-grown brand, is proud to be able to give back to Singaporeans. In sponsoring the seven­-week course for Sailability, it is our wish to empower disabled youths and to give them a head­-start towards having the courage to achieve their dreams and to inspire them to greatness,' said Mr. Hoo Hoe Keat, Managing Director, Fish & Co. Restaurants Pte Ltd.

Sailability ambassador and gold medallist at 2014’s Incheon Asian Para Games, Jovin Tan, added, 'This is a wonderful initiative for budding talents and to groom Singapore’s future Paralympic sailors. Sailing has given me the strength to break boundaries and the passion to become the best for Singapore. It is my hope that others will benefit as much as I have from sailing.'