Alex Sam Maloney and Bullock at the 2010 Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland. Image copyright Event Media.
by Jodie Bakewell-White
Yachting New Zealand has today announced twelve sailors selected for the 2010 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team to compete at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships.
The annual regatta, commonly referred to as the Youth Worlds, will this year take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 8th to 17th July.
Selected for the 2010 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team are...
Male Laser Radial - Thomas Saunders, Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club (Age 17 years)
Female Laser Radial – Molly Meech, Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club (Age 17 years)
Male RS:X – Oliver Gunman, Takapuna Boating Club (Age 17 years)
Female RS:X – Georgia Schofield, Takapuna Boating Club (Age 16 years)
Male 420 Helm – James Turner,Lake Taupo Yacht Club & Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 18 years)
Male 420 Crew – Logan Dunning-Beck, Wakatere Boating Club (Age 16 years)
Female 420 Helm – Erica Dawson, Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 15 years)
Female 420 Crew – Vicky Francis, Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 17 years)
Open 29er Helm – Alexandra Maloney, Murrays Bay Sailing Club (Age 18 years)
Open 29er Crew – Sam Bullock, Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club (Age 17 years)
Open Multihull – Naomi Mannering, Napier Sailing Club (Age 16 years)
Open Multihull – Josh Porebski, Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club (Age 17 years)
“All of these sailors know to expect a high level of competition and are aware of what’s required to do well at the Youth Worlds,” says Yachting New Zealand Youth Development Manager, Ian Neely. “They are training hard and focussed on returning good results for New Zealand in 2010.”
Three of the twelve sailors named have previous Youth Worlds experience having competed in Brazil as representatives in the 2009 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team. They include Alexandra Maloney, Logan Dunning-Beck and James Turner.
Alexandra Maloney narrowly missed a bronze medal last year to finish fourth in the Girl’s 420 class, however she went on to win the Open Women’s International 420 World Champs in Italy the following week. This year Maloney, who represents the Murrays Bay Sailing Club on Auckland’s North Shore, is sailing at the helm of 29er skiff with Sam Bullock from Tauranga as crew.
Logan Dunning-Beck returns to the national team in the Boys 420 event in which he placed eighth last year. The third returning member of the team, James Turner, of Lake Taupo origin is at the helm of the Boys 420. In 2009 Turner competed in the open multihull class.
Thomas Saunders, from Tauranga debuts in the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team this year, but has some top sailing achievements to his name already. This year he took out the Laser Radial division at Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland Regatta and the Laser Radial National Championship title.
Both of the 420 crews, as well as the 29er pair will travel early and compete in major regattas in the lead-up to the Youth Worlds, the 420’s at Kiel Week in Germany, and the 29er in the 29er European Champs in Spain. New Zealand’s Laser Radial representatives, Saunders and Meech, will be at the Istanbul venue early to prepare.
For the first time the team includes twelve sailors with the introduction of the 29er as an open event at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships. Over recent years the regatta’s girls and boys double-handed events have featured either the 420 or the 29er, but not both, at the discretion of the host venue.
2010 sees the inclusion of the Girls’ 420, Boys' 420 as well as the Open 29er, which makes for a full team of twelve sailors as opposed to ten in recent years. The Istanbul hosts have chosen the SL 16, over the Hobie, as the boat for the Open Multihull event.
The coaching team to travel to Istanbul with the 2010 NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team includes Ian Neely, Grant Beck and Natalia Kosinska.
Neely is Yachting New Zealand’s Youth Development Manager and an experienced coach and Kosinska is a former youth worlds gold medallist for Poland in board sailing. Grant Beck is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished coaches having supported Barbara Kendall and Tom Ashley to multiple Olympic medals. His son Logan is in the team.
Jim Maloney, father of sailor Alexandra, will also be in Istanbul with the team bringing his wealth of knowledge and experience.
In behind the NZL Yachting Trust Youth Team are long-time principal sponsor the NZL Yachting Trust. Yachting New Zealand is delighted to welcome Oceanbridge Shipping as a key sponsor and the team will wear SLAM Advanced Technology Sportswear.
About the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships
The ISAF Youth Worlds was first held in Sweden in 1971. The 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey will be the 40th Championship.
Past notable winners include American’s Cup skippers, Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL); Olympic medallists, Robert Scheidt (BRA), Amelie Lux (GER), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Nick Rogers (GBR) and Siren Sundby (NOR); Volvo Ocean Race sailors like Stuart Bannatyne (NZL) and Richard Clarke (CAN).
Yachting New Zealand
