ISAF Youth Sailing World - Victorian teenagers ready

by Craig Heydon on 9 Jul 2012 Tom Klemens and James Oliver will be closing the books and putting the pressures of completing year 12 aside later this month as they represent Australia at the 2012 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship.

Victorians Klemens and Oliver will make their ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship debut this month. They will they represent Australia in the 420 boy’s class.

Australia has had success in the 420 boy’s class at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship with Angus Galloway and Alex Gough winning bronze in 2011 while Australia also had podium finishes six times between 1999 and 2006.

'With only a couple of weeks to go we feel that everything is starting to come together,' said Klemens. 'It’s challenging that we often have to train on our own however we spent some time in Perth training with Tessa Parkinson and the 420 girls and a small fleet of 420's.

This helped us to fine tune our skills and put us under a bit more pressure in training in preparation for the demands of a World Championship. Oliver is happy with how the pair is coming along in what is turning out to be a hectic year.

'Our preparations are coming along very nicely, juggling year 12 and our Youth Worlds campaign has made it a busy year so far, however we’re happy with the progress we’ve made,' said Oliver.

The 2012 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship will be held in Dublin, Ireland, and is the closest thing that you sailors can experience to an Olympic Games, with only one entry per country, per class and a real emphasis on team work.

'Representing your country is something that everyone wants to do,' said Klemens. 'I'm so proud to be Australian and it’s amazing to be given the responsibility to represent the country at a World Championship. Australia has a proud history in the sport which means there's added pressure to perform however it all adds to the excitement of the event.'

Crew member Oliver is also looking forward to the challenge of competing against the best in the world and representing Australia.

'Everyone dreams of representing their country at an international level,' said Klemens. 'It's an honour to wear the Australian colours as well as a big responsibility due to the Australian reputation both on and off the water, therefore making it an honour to be a part of the team.'

2012 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship website