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Optimist World Championships

Historic trophy haul by Singapore team at the 51st World Championship

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OPTIMIST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Fraglia Vela Riva, Italy
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Dziwnow, Poland
Riva del Garda, Italy

Historic trophy haul by Singapore team

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Thursday 25 July

Historic trophy haul by Singapore team Today saw the conclusion of the 51st Optimist World Championships, held at Fraglia Vela Riva with 58 nations present and 259 sailors aged up to 15 years. Loh Jia Yi of Singapore has dominated from the start of the regatta, ahead of German Nils Sternbeck, the only skipper who managed to challenge the Singaporean team. Loh Jia Yi has had an impressive series with 6 victories, two seconds, a third, and discarding a twenty-third. Next in the ranking Singapore hold fourth and sixth place, as well as leading in the women's rankings with the first two positions held by Bertha Han (fourth overall) and Fathin Bte Mohd. Third place in the female rankings goes to Spanish Maria Bover Guerrero.

Today, the last day of racing, saw one fleet complete a race which was scheduled for yesterday but hadn't been possible due to the sudden drop in wind. After this the entire fleet was able to move on to the tenth set of races but this didn't bring much change to the top rankings. The weather was beautiful in Garda Trentino with bright sun, clear skies and 12-14 knots on the wind: a fitting end to a World Championship.

swimming pool at CNSD
Closing Ceremony, President Peter Barclay with Team Singapore and their coach, Fernando Alegre "Happy"

Peter Barclay, President of the International Optimist Class said. "We felt like we were at home, the reception of Riva del Garda, the Guild Vela Riva and the Italian Optimist Class was great, the sailors have had a fantastic experience. The International Optimist Dinghy Association works with the aim to bring youth sailing to the world. At a World Championship like this the performance level is very high and we are very pleased to have so many nations competing. It is our responsibility to provide a great start for these young sailors and to help them find a skill for life" he concluded. The event can be replayed thanks to the GPS tracking | Tracking |

| Results |


Wednesday 24 July

Storms disrupt racing on penultimate day

Tomorrow sees the conclusion of the Optimist World Championship with only the German, Sternbeck, keeping up with the strong Singapore team. After todays races Loh Jia Yi continues to lead and the rest of the 5 strong Singaporean team are ranked in the top 8, in the provisional standings. The 51st Optimist World Championship, organized by Fraglia Vela Riva, Lake Garda Trentino-Italy finishes tomorrow.

Eight races have been completed so far for all fleets with the yellow fleet having completed an additional ninth. The wind came in this afternoon at 14-16 knots but gradually decreased towards the end of the first race due to a storm in the mountains behind Riva del Garda. This blocked the revered southerly Ora and brought the echoing sound of thunder to Riva. The fleets were quickly brought ashore.

Tension is rising in the boat park as the sailors get closer to the end of the regatta and we hope that the breeze will be more consistent for them tomorrow.The event can be followed tomorrow by web thanks to the GPS tracking | Tracking |

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Tuesday 23 July

Singapore dominate the top of the rankings

 

With two days until the conclusion of the Optimist World Championship in Riva del Garda, Italy, the overwhelming power of Singapore is confirmed with 4 athletes in the top 6. After yesterday's lay day it was unfortunate that the Race Committee could only manage one race for each of the four fleets, due to the weather conditions. The southerly wind arrived later than usual but with a steady 10-12 knots for the first group of starts. But as these first four races progressed it continually decreased. Towards the end of these first races the strong westerly wind arrived and all fleets were instructed to quickly head for shore.

Singaporean Loh Jia Yi, with a scoreline of 1-1-1-2-3-2 recorded a 23rd today but continues to lead, 5 points ahead of German Nils Sternbeck. Sternbeck today scored a good second, and third overall is Swiss Damian Suri, who finished fifth today. Nipping at the heels of the top three are the trio of Singapore with Edward Tan, fourth just one point from the podium, followed by teammates Han Bertha and Koh Kun.

Tomorrow, if the wind conditions are more stable, the Race Committee hope to complete 3 races. The event can also be followed tomorrow by web thanks to the GPS tracking | Tracking |

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Sunday 21 July

 

Singapore are Optimist Team Racing World Champions

Fraglia Vela Riva has seen some impressive Team Racing skills from the Optimist fleet over the last 2 days. After the group stage yesterday, today saw the best 16 teams compete in more difficult conditions with southerly winds of 14-18 knots and larger waves than yesterday. Singapore won all of their matches to put them straight in the final. Brasil, Great Britain, USA and ITA qualified for the fifth stage of the competition with Great Britain beating Brasil and Italy beating USA to get through to the sixth stage. Italy beat Great Britain to progress to the final with Singapore. Special mention must be made of the British Team who fought hard for their Bronze position. They were ambitious and confident from the start and their team racing skills were honed as they progressed through the competition.

Italy made the finals after winning against Chile, Peru, United States and Great Britain. Singapore were the favourites from before the start of the competition however Italy were clearly used to competing here at Lake Garda on it's windier days and put up a serious fight. The first race in the best of 3 final match went to Italy, with both teams scoring 18. The second went to Singapore, again with both teams scoring 18. In both nail biting races the fight continued right up until the end, with places still changing on the final beat of the S shape course. In the final race Singapore showed their mettle and were the clear winners. We congratulate Singapore on their title, but commendation must go to Italy for pushing Singapore so hard, up until the final moments.

All races were tracked today and you can replay them here; | |

Tomorrow is a lay day for the fleet and the Optimist World Championship fleet racing continues on 23rd July.

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Last night Chris Atkins, International Umpire and team racing coach, gave a team racing workshop for all of the sailors. This included a session on Indoor Team Racing. Watch the video and learn how to change a losing combination into a winning one.


Saturday 20 July

Optimist Team Racing World Championships 2013

The Optimist World Championship in Riva del Garda continues at full speed with the Optimist Team Racing World Championship which started today.

The two day Championship started today with 38 races on each of the two race courses. Each team races with four boats. Today saw the group stage start with 48 teams, the most ever in this competition, narrowed down to 16 by the end of the day. Tactics, team work, excellent boat handling, speed and knowledge of the Racing Rules of Sailing are essential to do well in this kind of racing.

On the alpha course Singapore, Peru and Spain progressed with 3 wins and no losses. On the bravo course China, Turkey and Italy achieved the same feat. These 6 teams will surely be the favourites for tomorrow.

The short S shape course, with matches lasting for an average of 6 minutes ensure exciting and adrenalin filled racing. The Championship will conclude tomorrow.

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Last night Chris Atkins, International Umpire and team racing coach, gave a team racing workshop for all of the sailors. This included a session on Indoor Team Racing. Watch the video and learn how to change a losing combination into a winning one.


Friday 19 July

Another strong day for Loh Jia of Singapore, with German Sternbeck still holding second overall and Italian Dimitri Peroni following in third place. In the girls ranking another Singaporean sailor, Bertha Han, dominated today and stands fifth overall. She is followed by Spain's Maria Bover Guerrero and in third Bte Mohd Fathin, also from Singapore.

Today was the third day of racing at the 2013 Optimist World Championships in Riva del Garda with 58 nations competing with some of the best international youth sailors.

The Race Committee have now completed a total of six races with two being held today in light wind conditions rather than the usually predictable breeze of Lake Garda: they saw 8 knots which then rose to a maximum of 14 in the second race of the day.

The fleet racing programme tomorrow takes a break to make way for the 2 day Optimist World Team Racing Championships: 48 teams will be compete for the title, and will provide thrilling racing close to the shore of Riva del Garda.

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Thursday 18 July

Another beautiful, but long day of racing, confirming the strength of the Singaporean team. A day of redemption for Germany and Great Britain.

It was the second day of racing in the Optimist World Championship in Riva del Garda with highly variable conditions. In the first race the wind settled at 8-10 knots, allowing the lighter sailors to do well after the medium-strong wind of yesterday. By mid-afternoon, after an enforced break waiting for a steady breeze to return, the Race Committee was able to complete another 4 races, one for each fleet.

Singapore continues to dominate in the overall standings with two sailors in the top 3 overall: three wins and a second to SIN 115, Loh Jia Yi, who maintains the championship lead. Fast behind him, German, Nils Sternbeck posted two wins today after a fourth and second yesterday. Third, Edward Tan of Singapore with 2 thirds yesterday and a first and an eighth today. The Italian Peroni Dimitri was second in the third race, he slipped to nineteenth in the last race in the lighter breeze. It was a good day for GBR sailor, Labrouche, with a second and ninth which leaves him two points behind Peroni. In the women's ranking the Spaniard Maria Bover Guerrero is ruling (5-8-12-12 to date), second Ceci Wollman (Bermuda, excellent second in the first race of the day) and the third Slovenian Jana Germans, third overall in the race 3. It will be interesting to see how the overall rankings change after the discards come into play.

We have one more day of fleet racing tomorrow before a break for the Team Racing Championship.

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Wednesday 17 July

Two races were completed today for all four fleets. The wind was steady and gradually increased during the day to 15 knots. Dimitri Peroni, Italy, Jia Yi Loh and Kun Yi Koh, both from Singapore, all scored two bullets and share the top of the results board. There is still a long way to go in this championship with another 10 races scheduled. Another two races are sceduled for tomorrow.

swimming pool at CNSD

| Results |


Tuesday 16 July

 

swimming pool at CNSD
Opening Ceremony Optimist World Championship 2013, Riva del Garda, Italy © Matias Capizzano

The 51st World Optimist Championships officially opened in Riva del Garda, Italy, organised by Fraglia Vela Riva in collaboration with IODA (the International Optimist Class) in the presence of ISAF President Carlo Croce, Olympian Alessandra Sensini and IODA President Peter Barclay. A record number of 58 countries from 5 continents are taking part. Registrations, which closed after measurement, gave us the final total of 254 competitors. Peter Barclay (Peru, IODA President since 2006) handed over to Carlo Croce ( Italian, elected to ISAF presidency in November last year) to declare the 2013 Optimist World Championships "Open"!


Sunday 14 July

Measurement is now underway. With 57 teams registered and all needing to be measured this is a huge task for the team led by Conxa Ontiveros, an International Measurer from Spain. In the video below she explains the measurement process to the team from Argentina.


Online registration for entries for the Optimist World Championship is now available.

Please email Tessa, Regatta Secretary, for your login details:

tessa@optiworld.org

We would also appreciate team photos and links to any event blogs that you are running to use on our website both to promote you and the event.

We look forward to seeing you all in Garda

Thanks

IODA Secretariat

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