Nearly 1,400 young sailors set for 36th Lake Garda Optimist Meeting
by Fraglia Vela Riva 22 Mar 2018 04:36 PDT
28 March - 1 April 2018
Lake Garda Optimist Meeting © Elena Giolai / Fraglia Vela Riva
The Lake Garda Optimist Meeting (28th March – 1st April) at Riva del Garda looks set to be a record-breaking edition with almost 1,400 participants from 33 countries taking part, including Japan and Mexico for the first time.
Fraglia Vela Riva, the sailing club of Riva del Garda on the north shore of Lake Garda which in 2018 celebrates its 90th anniversary, is proud to organise the 36th edition of the Lake Garda Optimist Meeting, the exclusive event for the youth sailing reserved to the Optimist class, approved by the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV).
The event has won the Guinness World Record® for the largest sailing regatta of a single class in 2012 with 1,055 participants: this figure has been exceeded in the following editions. As usual, the event will take place in Garda Trentino during the Eastern week (28th March – 1st April) and it will attract hundreds of young sailors, aged 9-15, from 32 countries. This year the club expects more almost 1,400 sailors.
The event will officially kick off on Wednesday March 28th with the fourth edition of the Country Cup, a special kind of regatta in an Olympic-style, in which only one representative per country can compete. Denmark (2) and Germany (1) have won the past editions. Later on Wednesday evening, the enchanting Opening Ceremony will take place with all the sailors, who will walk through the town of Riva del Garda waving the flags of their countries led by the marching band.
The fleet races are divided into heats per each division (Cadets 9-11 years and Juniors 12-15 years) will take place from Thursday March 29th until Sunday April 1st. The most represented countries are Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Norway, Russia, Hungary, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and – for the first time Japan and Mexico are the oversea nations of the 2018 edition.