2024 Asian & Oceanian Optimist Championship in Hong Kong
by Sailing Federation of Hong Kong, China 6 Jan 21:22 PST
29 December 2024 - 5 January 2025
The 2024 Asian and Oceanian Optimist Dinghy Championship, sanctioned by the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) and organized by the Sailing Federation of Hong Kong, China with support from the Hong Kong Optimist Dinghy Association was held from December 29, 2024, to January 5, 2025, at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club Marina.
Competing in this event were 133 participants from 19 countries or regions, including Australia, China, India, Japan, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and more. HKG team was composed of 20 Optimist sailors.
Singapore sailor Ethan Chia successfully defended his 2023 title.
HKG Sailing Team achieved outstanding results in the "2024 Asian & Oceanian Optimist Championship":
- Hong Kong athlete, Miss Margaux NGUYEN-MINH became the 2024 Asian and Oceanian Girl Champion, by winning the Gold medal in the Girls Division & 1 Bronze medal in the Overall Championship.
- Among the Top 10 Girls, HKG counted 5! The 4 other sailors are:
- The 6th Girl: Zihan LIU
- The 8th Girl: Jessica LIU
- The 9th Girl: Tara MALIAH
- The 10th Girls: Jolin ZHENG
On the last racing day, Hong Kong's winter sun emerged for the final day of the 2024 Optimist Asian & Oceanian Championship, providing a picturesque backdrop for the highest-stakes day of racing yet. Conditions varied between 8 to 13 knots, with more unstable winds than previous days. Initially coming from the Northeast, the wind shifted slightly Eastwards over the course of the day, accompanied by swells of over 1.5m.
Race 9 continued the trend of the day with another redistribution of results, partially due to shifts on the final beat. Chia maintained a top 5 position throughout the race, crossing the line in 1st and winning not only the race but the event. 2nd place went to Kento Kahara (JPN), who had led comfortably until the final beat. This was Kahara's best placed Gold Fleet finish. Kian Anderson (HKG) took 3rd, concluding the event with his best result yet. Gold Fleet races, although highly competitive, saw a larger variation in finish times than on Race Day 4 due to more varied wind strengths around the course and increased swell.
Overall, Chia's consistent sailing and two Gold Fleet race wins led to him becoming the Optimist Asian & Oceanian Champion for the second time in a row. Kum ended the event in 2nd and Margaux Nguyen-Minh (HKG) was 3rd overall. Nguyen-Minh was also the top girl overall.
Singapore's dominance of the overall results was clear: 7 out of the top 10 sailors overall were Singaporean. The rest of the top 20 consisted of sailors from Hong Kong, China, Oman, Thailand, China PR, Japan, Argentina and the UAE.
Sailors then returned ashore to scenes of celebration, with a sea of Singaporean flags held high. Sails from the 19 participating countries and regions were rolled, and OnePlus charter boats were returned as all derigged for the final time. Prizes were awarded to winners by Dr. Jack Wong, Chairman of the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club, Mei Han Chung, President of the Sailing Federation of Hong Kong, China and Karl Kwok, Vice President of Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China. Ajay Narang, the IODA Vice President of Asia, Oceania, and Africa, presented a participation certificate to each competitor and declared the event officially closed. Finally, the Hong Kong and Oman teams participated in a Flag Ceremony, passing the IODA Flag to the host of the 2025 Optimist Asian & Oceanian Championship - Oman.
Thank you to all supporters and sponsors that made this event possible, including the co-organizer: the Hong Kong Optimist Dinghy Association. Thank you to the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club for providing the venue, Hong Kong's Leisure and Cultural Services Department provided invaluable support, and the event was subvented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau Arts & Sport Development Fund.
Full results available here.