Marlow Ropes Award presented at Semaine Olympique Francaise

by Mat Carter on 5 May 2012 Semaine Olympique Francaise 2012, the French World Cup Regatta, was held in Hyeres from 22nd to 27th April where rising 2.4 mR Paralympic hopeful Will Street received an additional boost to his prosperous campaign after he was awarded the coveted Marlow Ropes Award.

The Marlow Ropes Award was introduced in 2002 with the aim of rewarding Britain’s most promising young sailors for their determination, focus and talent.

Street who has only recently been selected for Skandia Team GBR’s Transitional Squad after a string of impressive performances, now has access to an array of world class training resources used by Britain’s Olympic gold medal winning sailors – a real stepping stone to succeeding at the highest level.

'I was extremely pleased when I got told I had won the award,' enthused the 20-year-old from Eastbourne, East Sussex.

'I have only been sailing the 2.4mR for just over a year but have made good progress. I competed in my first overseas event at Palma recently and finished 13th out of 24 of the classes top international sailors, so I think that result was one of the reasons for me receiving the Award.'

In 2011 Street was ranked 23rd in the IFDS (International Federation of Disabled Sailors) World Rankings and third GBR boat behind Skandia Team GBR’s Performance Squad sailors Helena Lucas and Megan Pascoe.

More recently, Street has displayed real promise in his first two international regattas finishing mid fleet in the Princess Sofia and Hyeres ISAF World Cup regattas which welcomed the world’s top Paralympic competitors.

'I was particularly pleased to find that I could stay with the top guys when I got things right and finished sixth in the first race at the Princess Sofia. I have had a good winter’s training at WPNSA and my boat has been well setup and prepared. I feel that I have learnt something every time I have sailed and have tried to put that learning into practice whenever I race.'

Street continued: 'I am very impressed with the Skandia Team GBR setup and believe that my selection to the Squad will be a tremendous boost to my continued development towards reaching my sailing goals.'

The Marlow award entitles Street to free Marlow rope for a year; a financial boost previous winners, double World 470 champions Nic Asher and Elliot Willis and 2008 Olympic Yngling gold medallist Pippa Wilson, have also benefitted from.

'Marlow make the best sailing ropes in the world and have agreed to re-roping my boat with the optimum tools for the job. We have already discussed using some new low stretch, lightweight ropes to reduce the windage and weight in critical areas like the forestay and backstay,' explained Street.

The young 2.4 mR sailor is now part of an intensive training regime with fellow Skandia Team GBR Squad sailors ahead of the 2012 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta which kicks off in four weeks’ time (4-9 June). Having had his potential recognised with the Marlow Ropes accolade he is looking ahead to an exciting season.

'My aim this year is to get as much international racing experience as possible and to learn as much as I can. From a target point of view my main event this year is Skandia Sail for Gold and I would like to finish in the top half with some top 10 individual race results.

Street concluded: 'Continuously improving both my overall position and individual race consistency is my aim over the next 12 to 18 months, in terms of long term - my goal is to win a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympics. I have a lot of work to do but I believe it’s possible.'

Barrie Edgington, Skandia Team GBR Development Squad Manager, commented: 'Under the guidance of Matt Grier, Skandia Team GBR Disability Racing Development Coach, Will has flourished in the Transitional programme and has displayed determination and impressive results domestically and more recently at the ISAF World Cup in Palma.

'His potential has been recognised both the inclusion in the Skandia Team GBR Development programme closely followed by the Marlow Ropes Award – a double whammy!

'With the 2.4mR being a technical thoroughbred keelboat, albeit on a smaller scale, this will be a perfect opportunity for Will to access the cutting edge ropes to further boost his boats speed and reliability,' said Edgington.

As well as supporting up-and-coming sailors, Marlow Ropes are also the official supplier and exclusive team ropes partner to Skandia Team GBR thanks to its industry-renowned reputation for producing products tried, tested and trusted in the world’s harshest environments.

Paul Honess, Leisure Marine Sales Director, said: 'We find that working with the team and the sailors such as Will is vital as the feedback we receive is influential in developing and improving our products at Marlow. In turn we at Marlow can educate team members on the latest materials and rope constructions to help keep British sailors at the leading edge.'

Skandia Team GBR website