| A promising European season ahead. |
| By Frank Quealey, the Australian 18 Footers League. |
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Photo by the Australian
18 Footers League
edited By Peter Andrews. |
| April 15, 2011. |
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The 2011 European 18ft Skiff Grand Prix Circuit gets under way with the first regatta at Lake Balaton, Hungary on May 12 to 15, and is certain to progress the class based in the Northern Hemisphere if their preparations receive the support they deserve.
New Secretary of the European 18 Foot Skiff Class Association, Norbert Peter from Germany is a progressive thinker with a real love of the class and the skills necessary to help bring the various countries together in a more organised manner. And Soren Clausen from Denmark is the man driving the highlight event of the European season, the Mark Foy Trophy at Sonderborg in Denmark from June 6 to 11, and his work in organising TV support from Eurosport has been nothing less than brilliant.
The countless hours he has spent liaising with European and Australian video producers, together with the LIVE tracking, will ensure the event receives fantastic worldwide exposure for their sponsors. Like Norbert Peter, Soren Clausen is a positive and forward thinker with a love of the class and a very good promotional brain. Having these two men responsible for the welfare of European 18ft Skiff Racing is the most promising move for the class in a decade.
"We are trying to move the class in a new direction," said Peter. "Former competitors who began around eight years ago have started to disappear and we need to encourage new teams. We are trying to put a new package together which will give teams a forum to produce professional sport as well as having fun."
It takes a great team of people and allot of dedication to achieve such goals and Peter is confident that they will have the resources that will enable them to succeed.
"We have a bunch of people who form a think-tank to develop the class. As well as Soren Clausen in Denmark, Ben Clothier in the UK, Miklos Ujhelyi-Gaspar in Hungary and Adrian Iten from Switzerland are doing great work to strengthen the class in their areas. Soren’s achievement in the deal with Eurosport is a very important piece of stone in the wall to build the European house for the more professional teams."
As for key regattas in Europe, much progress has been made, resulting with some highly competitive events to look forward to.
"For the Mark Foy Trophy regatta, we expect to have teams from Denmark, Germany, UK, Hungary and Netherlands as well as teams from Australia, USA and New Zealand," said Peter. "For the other tour events, we will have more participants. There will be teams from France and Switzerland as well as more from Hungary. We also hope there will be others as well."
The opening round of the Grand Prix circuit at Lake Balaton is the first Hungarian national regatta and is a boost for the class. This is particularly special as Hungary’s top 18 footer team, the Liberty Sailing Team which is skippered by Miklos Ujhelyi-Gaspar, is the reigning European champion. |
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European champion, Liberty Sailing Team from
Hungary in action.
Photo © Australian 18 Footers
League.
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Other Grand Prix events on the circuit are the German Grand Prix at Travemunde from July 23 to 26 and the Swiss Grand Prix at Lake Urnersee, Switzerland from September 23 to 25.
The United Kingdom 18 foot Skiff Association will also stage four Grand Prix regattas between April and October within their shores, while the International 18 foot Skiff Championship will be sailed at San Francisco, USA from August 21 to 26.
Former Giltinan champion and now President of the Australian 18 Footers League, John Winning, is fully supportive of the European 18 Foot Skiff Class Association and will lead the Australian team to contest the Mark Foy Trophy. Winning will skipper his Yandoo skiff, which has just completed its first season after only being built late in 2010.
"The League is always keen to see the 18s’ spread into as many areas as possible and we predict a good future for Europe with the talented new administration ready to build on the efforts of their predecessors," said Winning. "The introduction of technology has made the sport accessible to anyone with a computer, so we can expect more sponsorship to come into the class as this new administration takes full advantage of the possibilities."
Maersk Shipping Lines have recently shipped boats from USA, UK and New Zealand as well as Australia on behalf of the Australian 18 Footers League, to enable the Australians to compete in the Denmark and San Francisco regattas.
More information, photographs and videos can be found at www.flying18s.com and www.18footers.com.au.
Frank Quealey
Australian 18 Footers League
www.flying18s.com. |
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| Outimage and the
Australian 18 Footers Leaguea © 2011 |
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