Bavaria youth match racing regatta report - 13th December 2007
Sandringham Youth Development Squad
Bavaria Youth Match Racing Championships Report
11th December 2007
Three junior members of the Sandringham Youth Development Squad attended the Annual Bavaria Youth Match Racing Championships at CYCA from 14 – 18th of November. This regatta was very productive in further developing the match racing skills of the team. The Sandringham team consisted of Adam Evans as the skipper, Katherine Lynch on the main, Caroline Theodore on the bow, and accompanied by John Middleton as the head coach.
The first day at CYCA we weighed in at approximately 50kg under the weight limit and then went out for a sail for the first time in the Elliot 6’s. The wind was approximately 20 knots, which didn’t make our first sail very easy, however our training session was very constructive and we were soon used to the foreign boat.
The 2nd Day of the regatta was our first race day. We were up bright and early for the boat draw and soon after we were out on the water ready for our first race day. The conditions were ideal for match racing, with blue skies and moderate sea breezes. The first race of the regatta we were leading until the first bottom mark rounding, when we had spinnaker troubles, despite this our match racing skills were still in tact and we were able to come back with 2 wins for the day. Our starts were consistently good, leading or following closely behind our opponents.
Day 3 of the regatta we were in fine spirits ready for another big day on the water. Throughout day 3 it was obvious how much our match racing skills had improved as we were more competitive in each race with our opponents. However our day was cut short due the hectic traffic on Sydney harbour.
Day 5 was the final day of the regatta. Out of the 3 races of the day we were able to win the final match, which was a good note to finish on. Later that afternoon was the presentation. We were able to interact with the umpires and fellow competitors in a less serious manner, sharing funny pastimes from the regatta and forming new friends for life.
We would just like to thank all the members from Sandringham Yacht Club for supporting us throughout our training program. We have been very fortunate to have many amazing opportunities to go to interstate regattas and also host two at Sandringham, the National Women’s Match Racing Regatta and the National Open Match Racing Regatta. It is thanks to the Sandringham member’s support that we are able to attend these regattas, which is where we are improving the most. Although match racing is just beginning to develop in Victoria, more specifically Sandringham we are gradually improving our skills by attending regattas and attending our weekly training sessions coached by John Middleton. We would especially like to thank John Middleton, Phil Strong and Dean Robson who have all been the backbones behind the program and without their support and dedication we would not be able to have such opportunities
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Caroline Theodore
