The National Sailing Academy in English Harbour, Antigua is gearing up to host the fourth of five ISAF Youth Worlds Emerging Nations Program (YW ENP) clinics from 14 - 20 July.
More than 20 young sailors and 11 coaches representing 11 countries, will be in Antigua for the Americas Regional Performance clinic that is being hosted by the ISAF Member National Authority (MNA) for Antigua, the Antigua Sailing Association.
The seven day clinic is the fourth of five regional training clinics that are being delivered in the build up to the 2015 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship that is being held in Langkawi, Malaysia from 27 December 2015 to 3 January 2016.
Sailors and coaches from Antigua, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Barbados, Guatemala, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands and Ecuador will be in attendance sailing the 'supported class' for the clinic, the Laser Radial.
View a summary of the first clinic below:
Joining and supporting the sailors will be two ISAF Nominated Experts responsible for the day to day delivery of the theoretical and practical programme as well as a four person ISAF media team.
One of the key targets of the YW ENP is to help increase attendance at the 2015 YW event to 80 nations.
All sailors that complete the training program at their regional clinic are then eligible for applications that can be made, by their MNAs, for 'ENP Scholarships' which cover the full cost of entry to the Youth Worlds which will help achieve this goal.
Thirty two MNA's have now been successful in their applications and will also receive a scholarship for additional subsidies from ISAF for travel costs, registration fees and boat charter related to attendance at the Youth Worlds.
Follow and get involved with the YW ENP clinics by using the #YouthSailing hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.
The aims of the ISAF Youth Worlds Emerging Nations Programme are:
To help 'Narrow the performance gap' between nations attending the ISAF Youth Worlds through the provision of pre-event training opportunities for sailors and coaches.
For ISAF to actively engage with ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs), encouraging a greater attendance of nations at the ISAF Youth Worlds.
To enable ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) access to a 'development pathway' for young sailors and their coaches, linking the YW ENP to similar projects being developed for the 2018 ISAF World Championships.
To provide ISAF MNAs with the opportunities to benefit from further development support through IOC Olympic Solidarity funded programmes.
To empower ISAF MNAs to develop national sail training programmes which will enable independent, un-subsidised attendance at future Youth Worlds events.
Clinics are scheduled in the following locations:
Suva, Fiji - 24 to 30 April
Balatonfüred, Hungary - 9 to 15 May
Maputo, Mozambique - 16 to 22 May
National Sailing Academy, Antigua - 14 to 21 July
Langkawi, Malaysia - 24 to 30 October
Full details of the Emerging Nations Program as well as all other information on the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships can be found here www.isafyouthworlds.com
A full list of YW ENP videos including interviews with all sailors and coaches involved will be added to our dedicated ISAF TV channel here www.youtube.com/isafchannel.
