Optimists of the Northern Capital, the Gazprom Cup defining event

by Emma Upton on 31 Aug 2013 With the upcoming final of the four event series for the Optimists of the Northern Capital, the Gazprom Cup running from August 29th through 31st at the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg Russia, the club is looking forward to crowning three top youngsters in the boys, girls and junior divisions. After four months of high participation competition the defining weekend’s event will determine which youths clearly have talent to take forward in their sailing career development.

The Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg is fast becoming an important breeding ground for Russia’s top youth racing talent and the Gazprom Cup is an important facilitator ensuring young sailors can race together at a globally recognised water sports location. Not only does this event venue have the capability to hold large scale dinghy and big boat events, it also offers marine enthusiasts the chance to try sailing and windsurfing for the first time and foster their enthusiasm into a sport of choice through on site tuition.

Vice President Europe of the International Optimist Dinghy Association, Carla Stanley, commented, 'The International Optimist Dinghy Association welcomes the fantastic opportunity the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg is offering Optimist sailors to sail in the final of the Gazprom Cup this coming weekend. For many Olympic and professional sailors taking part in Optimist events like the Gazprom Cup is the very start of their sailing careers'.

Artem Sudakov will aim to retain his title in the boys division, whilst Anastasia Deryagina will try to stay on top in the girl’s fleet. The junior class is currently dominated by Andrey Mikhailov in first and Andree Vasili in second. Both these juniors are Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg members demonstrating the powerful pool of talent that this Yacht Club is producing annually.

The Gazprom Cup is designed as a spring board for young Russian national sailors to leap into sailing on an international level against global competitors and offer these youths the opportunity to create their own long standing sailing fraternity friendships overseas, experiencing new worldwide locations.

Optimists of the Northern Capital – The 2013 Gazprom Cup – Series Schedule

Event 1 25 - 26 May
Event 2 1 - 2 June
Event 3 24 – 28 July
Event 4 29 – 31 August

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