35th Garda Meeting Optimist preview

by Fraglia Vela Riva on 23 Mar 2017 Less than one month to the start and already 985 pre-entries from 28 different nations. Puertorico and Thailand are the news of 2017, with five and three helmsmen registered. The largest representations are from Germany, Italy, Denmark, Swedish, Poland, Finland, Norway, Russia and Hungary.

35th Garda Meeting’s pre-registrations move forward at full speed. Classified as the largest single-class regatta in the world, it will take place in Riva del Garda during the Easter week. In 2012 this unique and unforgettable event won the Guinness World Record, with 1055 entrants from more than 30 nations.

This year the event will open officially on Wednesday April 12th with the third edition of the Country Cup, a special sailing format in which only one sailor for each nation can compete. Denmark was the winner of both 2015 and 2016 editions of the Cup. Later in the afternoon the opening ceremony, with its suggestive parade through the historical centre of Riva del Garda together with the Musical School’s marching band. From Tuesday 13th until Sunday 16th the helmsmen will compete in fleet regattas.

Meanwhile, everything is about to be ready at Fraglia Vela Riva. Thanks to the sponsor Kinder+Sport, also this year the last two days of the event will be delivered in live streaming. On land, a big stand set up by the sponsor Kinder+Sport will host all the participants after the races.

Gold Book

Garda Meeting Optimist’s main ambition is to be a great youth sailing festival and, at the same time, to give the young helmsmen the chance to express their own talent among so many competitors. In the gold book of the event there are the names of sailors who have achieved important international results: gold medals in the World Youth Championships, qualification for the Olympic Games and for America’s Cup. In the current year, the Gold Book adds the name of Alexandra Stalder, winner of 2013’s edition of Garda Meeting, who won the silver medal in the 2016 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships for 420 class in New Zealand. In New Zealand Alexandra Stalder, the cheerful winner of the 31st edition of Garda Meeting Optimist, proved to be such resolute in winning the silver medal as she did four years ago, in Riva del Garda. She also strongly contributed to the Italian victory in the Nations Trophy during the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships last December. Similar technical, competitive talents shown by other athletes that, after the Garda Meeting, achieved the expected international outcomes: Tomas Copi, Gabrio Zandonà, Oscar Angervall from Sweden, Siren Soot Sundby from Norway, Fantela from Croatia (470 gold medal in Rio), the Italian Giulia Conti (selected for the Olympic Games and 49er FX gold medal).

Thanks to the main sponsor Kinder+Sport a great number of people, even those who are not on the spot, will be able to experience the uniqueness of this breaking, exciting event by following the final races delivered in live streaming. The social project of Kinder+Sport promotes and encourages physical activity across the younger generations, inspiring children and young people worldwide to adopt active lifestyles from an early age. It supports physical education programs, provides schools with technical equipment, promotes student championships, supports sports events for children, organises multi-disciplinary campuses to involve children in sports, cooperates with athletes and former champions as 'ambassadors' of active lifestyles. During the event, Kinder+Sport will offer many opportunities to share such philosophy: live streaming will also give the chance of following the event to all the children who want to learn how to sail and would like to be involved in the next year Garda Meeting Optimist. A fertile ground in which Fraglia Vela Riva and Lake Garda have always invested great resources, in order to become one of the most famous locations for “riding down the wind”, thanks to the highest quality services they offer.

Guiness World Records

In 2012, Garda Meeting Optimist was classified by the Guinness World Records as the largest single-class regatta in the world. A further recognition for Fraglia Vela Riva that is able to organize such amazing event, with thousands of sailors from all over the world sailing together in the waters of Lake Garda.