IODA has more than doubled the number of member national associations over the last twelve years and is committed to bringing the benefits of sailing to young people worldwide. It offers limited financial aid to "newer" countries in three areas.

1) Free boats

the "6 for 5" scheme

Countries seeking to start or enlarge Optimist fleets can apply for one free boat for every five bought.

• The boats may be bought from any approved builder. Several builders offer very special prices for IODA-sponsored purchases.
• They must all be owned by an association, club or other "not-for-profit" organisation, and;
• They must all be available to introduce the children of non-sailors to the sport.

Consideration may also be given to supplying sails and rigs for locally-built wood/epoxy Optimists.

More than 270 Optimists have been sponsored under this scheme in the last seven years. Countries which have benefited so far are:

2) Coach-Training Courses

IODA has an ongoing programme of courses to train "basic-level" coaches. These are intended for newer Optimist sailing countries and regions which do not have an established national coaching programme.

An experienced Optimist trainer is sent to conduct a course of max. ten days duration. Ideally ten coaches attend, together with not more than 20 under-13 sailors.

Travel costs and fees are paid by IODA, up to US$2,500 per course.

• Applications are accepted only from national Optimist associations or sailing federations which are members of IODA, and all applications should be made through them. A list of these members is at members.php
• Preference is given to courses for coaches from more than one country
• Courses may be in any language spoken by a group of countries.
• September through March are the preferred months

To date nineteen such courses have been held, involving 28 countries.

The latest have been in Sudan and Vanuatu.

 

3) Regional regatta grants

To encourage participation in regional regattas IODA offers free entry and/or travel for certain countries to send sailors to continental and regional regattas.

Those benefitting in recent years included Cook I, Cuba, Georgia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Kenya, Macedonia FYR, Mauritius, Montenegro, Netherlands Antilles, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, St. Vincent, Samoa, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

 

APPLICATIONS FOR 2011 ARE INVITED

Just write to the IODA Secretariat and tell us what YOU need to help to develop Optimist sailing in YOUR country.

Countries which already have a Member National Optimist Association should apply through that association.

 

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LATEST NEWS ABOUT IODA DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

• DEVELOPMENT
• Topic:
• May 29, 2011
• Date of Publication:

PROJECT OPTIMIST IN BELIZE

Belize

The arrival in Belize of 26 new Optimist boats marks the 'unofficial' launch of Project Optimist, run by the recently formed Belize Sailing Association.

As we had announced in a former article, Belize have benefitted from our 6 for 5 scheme and is now the proud owner of 26 brand new Optimist boats, built by Shanghai Far East, one of 30 IODA approved builders. The boats will be used by the Belize Sailing Association to launch youth sail training and for Belize to compete internationally at this entry level.

There are Optimist dinghy clubs forming in Belize City, Ladyville, Belmopan and San Pedro Ambergris with interest expressed in Corozal, Dangriga and Placencia. The Belize City Club will be based on Sea Scouts and is in the process of organizing an Optimist Summer Camp on Buttonwood Bay. Sunday 26 June will see the official launch of Project Optimist, the programme to develop junior sailing by seeking sponsorship, building infrastructure and educating instructors. The project is also aiming to produce new sailors for other traditional sailing classes in a subsequent program known as "Grand Fleet Sailing", thus providing "meaningful activity" for youth and adults alike.

Earlier this month, Belize was admitted to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as a "Full Member National Authority (MNA)" of the world governing body for sailing with all benefits including entry to all international sailing events.

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• DEVELOPMENT
• Topic:
• Mar 15, 2011
• Date of Publication:

THREE NEW FLEETS

Tenth Anniversary of “6 for 5” programme

Tenth Anniversary of “6 for 5” programme

The first quarter of 2011 will see the creation of three new national Optimist fleets sponsored by the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) “6 for 5” programme. A total of 51 Optimists are on order, with IODA donating nine of them and overseeing a competitive tender process which ensures the lowest possible prices for national associations.

The fleets are on three continents: Armenia in Europe, Belize in Central America and Mozambique in Africa. A common factor is that sailing which existed in “colonial” days is being revived – perhaps just in time – by re-establishing the grassroots of the sport. The creation of these fleets follows that of new fleets in 2010 in Iran and Sudan.

June 2011 will mark the tenth anniversary of the IODA “6 for 5” Scheme. Thirty five countries have benefitted in the ten years, subsidizing the purchase of over 300 boats. Many have gone on to develop much larger fleets. The main emphasis has been on Africa and the Central America/Caribbean region though grants have also been made to countries in Oceania, the Balkans and elsewhere.

Details of the three 2011 projects are at:

| ARMENIA | BELIZE | MOZAMBIQUE |

IODA which has fleets in 120 countries, is actively seeking additional projects for 2011. Details of the programme are at:

| IODA Development |

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Click here for older projects.