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Volvo Ocean Race announce Youth Sailing Initiative

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Volvo Ocean Race announce Youth Sailing Initiative

January 19

Alicante, Spain – 19 January 2011 – The Volvo Ocean Race is proud to announce its new youth sailing initiative, the Volvo Ocean Race Academy. This Academy marks the continuation of the Volvo Ocean Race’s commitment to youth sailing worldwide.

The competitive pinnacle of the project will be the Academy Team Racing Series, which will be held in Optimists dinghies in each of the Host Ports. The two-day regatta will be run in the Race Village harbours, and the race organisation is working with the Optimist Class to organise these regattas.

"With the Academy Team Racing Series we hope to excite the competitive young sailors of the countries to race against each other. There will be trials in each of the countries to gain places at the team racing regattas and we are looking forward to working with the Optimist Class on this project across the globe" explained Knut Frostad, CEO Volvo Ocean Race.

 

The Volvo Ocean Race will have a total of 40 Optimists for the team racing series, branded to look like the Volvo Open 70s taking part in the upcoming race. Each Optimist team will be given the opportunity to meet the team under whose colours it is racing. The teams will consist of four children, one of whom must be from the opposite gender. The four-boat team racing will be held on the weekend before the In-Port Race and Leg Start in each of the stopovers and will have a special two-day schedule in the start port of Alicante, Spain and finish port of Galway, Ireland.

You can read more on this at Volvo Ocean Race

View some action shots of the team race finals here