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Latest News
Audi IRC Australian Championship on TV this weekCraig Heydon, Saturday, 20 March 2010Catch all the action from round two of the Audi IRC Australian Championship on ONE HD this Wednesday, 24 March at 9pm. Episode two of the series focusses on the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta which was recently held at Middle Harbour Yacht Club. Tune in for all the action from a thrilling weekend of racing.
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Australian team named for Youth Sailing World Championship in TurkeyCraig Heydon, Thursday, 11 March 2010The 2010 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team has been named with 12 sailors set to represent Australia at the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey from 8-17 July. The Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship will see sailors under the age of 19 from around the world descend on Turkey to compete in eight classes with an Australian entry in each class. Australia has a proud history at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships having won the prestigious ISAF Volvo Trophy for best placed nation in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007.
Australia sits top of the overall medal tally for the championship having claimed 24 Gold medals in the event’s history, three more than closest rival Great Britain, and the team will be looking to go further ahead in 2010.
Yachting Australia CEO Phil Jones is confident that the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australia Youth Sailing Team will continue the tradition of strong results this year.
“Historically, many of those who compete in the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships go on to participate in and succeed at Olympic and World Championship level,” said Mr Jones. “Australians who have done this include Elise Rechichi who won two Youth World Championship before her Olympic Gold medal and Nathan Outteridge who won three Youth World Championship Gold medals before winning two 49er World Championships and I believe that the team we’ve selected can emulate that,” said Mr Jones.
“All of the sailors have worked incredibly hard to get to where they are and I’m sure they’ll do Australia proud when they hit the water in Turkey this July,” he said.
The 2010 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team will feature sailors from across Australia with four states represented in the eight classes.
As in 2009 Queensland will again have a strong presence in the team with six athletes heading to Turkey. Joanna Sterling will contest the girl’s windsurfer class and is the only member of the team to have competed in the 2009 event in Brazil, where she finished 13th. Sterling will be joined by fellow Queenslander Ben Franklin who will compete in the Laser Radial boy’s class. Queensland crews will represent Australia in both of the 420 divisions, with Angus Galloway and Alex Gough competing the boy’s class and Elloise Brake and Ashley Warlow in the girl’s class.
The 29er class makes a return to the Youth Sailing World Championships in 2010 and the Australian entry will be sailed by New South Welshman Byron White, who competed at the 2008 event in Denmark, and his crew Thomas Koerner.
Also from New South Wales is Alexandra South who will sail in the Laser Radial girl’s class and Paul Darmanin who will compete alongside Victorian Chase Lurati aboard a Sirena SL16 in the open multihull class. Darmanin is the younger brother of Lisa Darmanin and cousin of Jason Waterhouse who won a gold medal at the 2009 event in the same class.
West Australian Eamon Robertshaw will sail in the boy’s windsurfer class with sailors set to compete aboard the RS:X.
Joining the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team will be team leader Kristen Kosmala from New South Wales and coaches Johnny Rodgers from Victoria and David Mann from Western Australia.
The OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team will take part in a series of training camps before heading to Turkey in 2 July.
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2010 Sail Down Under Series dates announcedCraig Heydon, Thursday, 11 March 2010Yachting Australia has announced the dates for the 2010 Sail Down Under Series with Australia to be the hub of Olympic class sailing action from the end of November until mid-December. The 2010 Sail Down Under Series will again include three regattas, in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with the series arranged to allow competitors time to travel between regattas.
Once again the series kicks off with Sail Brisbane with racing taking place from November 29 until December 2 at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.
2009 was a record year for Sail Brisbane and the new dates will allow those taking part in the Perth International Regatta from November 16-21 time to travel across the country to take part in the opening round of the Sail Down Under Series.
Sail Sydney will run from December 6-9 with the 2010 regatta to be held from Monday until Thursday. The shift away from the weekend is designed to allow racing to take place in less congestion, making life easier for competitors, race officials and spectators alike.
The final Sail Down Under Series regatta, Sail Melbourne, will again also host the opening round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup with official racing days for the 2010 event being December 13-18 with registration from December 12.
In 2009 overall series prizes were awarded for first, second and third in the contested Olympic classes and this year will be extended to include prizes for classes sailed at the Australian Youth Championships, such as the 29er and 420.
For more information on the series visit www.saildownunder.org.au
Sail Brisbane – 29 November – 2 December
Sail Sydney – 6 December – 9 December
Sail Melbourne – Registration from 12 December
Official Racing Days – 13 December – 18 December
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Feedback invited on the Yachting Australia Disability Action PlanCraig Heydon, Wednesday, 10 March 2010Yachting Australia is currently conducting a review of its Disability Action Plan and is inviting feedback from the community as a part of that review process. The Disability Action Plan (DAP) forms the framework for Yachting Australia to develop programs and opportunities in sailing for people with a disability.
The action plan specifically covers the grass roots level of participation for people with a disability including education, accreditation, discrimination and athlete support.
At the completion of the review Yachting Australia will resubmit a Plan to the Australian Sports Commission and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and then request that all state and territory MYAs review their related policies and strategy documents.
Yachting Australia asks that particular attention be made to specific areas of the current Disability Action Plan, including section 2; Key Focus Areas and section 3.3 Future Actions, as these will form the main focus of any future direction.
Section 2 Key Focus Areas guides Yachting Australia’s direction and programs in the four main key areas including; Disability Education, Accreditation, Classification and Athlete Support.
The direction Yachting Australia takes under section 3.3 Future Actions is underpinned by factors such as budget allocations and necessary commitments from other stakeholders in the sport.
Yachting Australia’s members are the state and territory MYAs. It may be that these Future Actions are best achieved by the MYA’s providing the necessary support to local organisations, including Sailability programs and clubs.
Also of national interest to Yachting Australia are high performance pathways to national representation and the accreditation of International Classifiers. Yachting Australia welcomes any feedback or comments on these topics.
Any interested person or entity may provide feedback, and Yachting Australia would welcome feedback.
Persons wishing to provide feedback should do so in writing to glen.stanaway@yachting.org.au prior to 10 April 2010.
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Open soon: Sports Leadership Grants and Scholarships for WomenCraig Heydon, Tuesday, 9 March 2010The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Australian Government Office for Women (OfW) are looking to develop more Australian women in leadership and decision making roles in sport. Applications open 1 March for the 2010–11 round of the ASC and OfW’s Sports Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women. These Australian Government grants and scholarships are offered to inspire and assist women in the sports industry to reach their full potential in leadership, through education and development opportunities.
The ASC invites women from all areas and levels of the Australian sports community to apply, including women involved in sport as managers, administrators, media and communication officers, coaches, officials, and women in sport governance.
Women from culturally diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women in rural and regional areas and women with disability are encouraged to apply.
The grants include scholarships for women in upper sports management of up to $10,000 a year for three years, one-off grants of up to $5,000 for individuals and up to $10,000 for approved organisations.
Last year’s grants supported 132 projects across the country in developing women’s leadership skills in their sport. Now in its ninth year, these grants have supported more than 16,000 women around Australia.
Applications close on Friday 30 April 2010. Terms and conditions apply.
For more information, visit ausport.gov.au/women or call 1800 224 412
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Australian crews finish top two at New Zealand Women’s Match Racing ChampionshipsCraig Heydon, Tuesday, 9 March 2010The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team has finished top of the table at the New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championships with Katie Pellew winning the 2010 title ahead of fellow Australian Nicky Souter. The Australian crews dominated the round robin stages of the regatta with Souter and crew of Jessica Eastwell, Amanda Scrivenor and Rayshele Martin recording 17 wins and just one loss, ahead of Pellew and crew Nina Curtis, Lucinda Whitty and Stacey Jackson with 16 wins and two losses. Souter kicked off the semi finals against New Zealand’s Stephanie Hazard and progressed to the final with a two to one victory while Pellew and crew defeated Sam Osborne of New Zealand two-nil.
Pellew took victory in the opening race of the all-Australian final by 46 seconds and was declared the regatta winner after the race committee was unable to complete any further final races in the allocated time.
“For my team and I to be able to win the Leith Mossman Memorial Trophy again and have our name on there for a third time is a great feat,” said Pellew who had previously won the regatta in 2003 and 2006.
“This year the event was scheduled with an extra day, to assist in completing the format,” she said. “We sailed a double Round Robin, Semis and almost completed a full final, so the Race Committee did an excellent job getting all the races off.”
“For this event we sailed with four crew rather than the three person Olympic format, which made for a crowded boat! Luckily Nina, Lucinda, Stacey and I are good friends and we had a great event and really enjoyed sailing together as a team,” said Pellew.
The Australian Women’s Match Racing Team will next be in action at the Harken Women’s International Match Racing Regatta at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia before the squad packs up and heads to round three of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Spain.
“As a squad we were very proud of our results, to again sail in a different team combination and go through the regatta neck and neck, and clear ahead of the other teams was a good step in our progression as a squad towards 2012,” said Pellew.
“Nicky and I have now stepped straight into the Louis Vuitton Series in Auckland, where we have joined the Umpire Team as observers on the back of the AC Boats, which will help increase our rules knowledge and awareness and allow us to learn from some of the top sailors in the world,” she said.
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Changes to your IRC ratingCraig Heydon, Tuesday, 9 March 2010Yachting Australia is advising owners to take care in declaring changes to your boat and is helping to explain changes to IRC ratings. Getting an IRC certificate in the first place is one thing, but keeping it valid and up-to-date for racing is another. Any changes made to the boat may affect the boat’s rating and/or invalidate the certificate entirely. Fortunately dealing with this is straightforward.
To apply for an amended or trial certificate(s), contact your local IRC Measurer or Yachting Australia. The IRC Measurer will help clarify the requirements of IRC and check any measurements to accompany your application.
The IRC Measurer will provide instructions and new measurements to Yachting Australia in writing and payments for applications can be made via cheque or credit card, with those applications for 2009 IRC certificates, received from 1 March to 31 May 2009, receiving a 50 per cent discount.
Any changes on the boat may affect your IRC Rating, and if so you will need to apply for an amended certificate. Any number of changes can be made for the price of one amendment.
For those unsure whether a change will require an amended certificate, please check with Yachting Australia. In some cases you may just be asked to write a note about a change which can be kept on file.
Common changes which may require an amended certificate are:
· new sails, either larger or smaller
· addition or removal of sails (e.g. additional spinnakers for a passage race)
· new or changed rig details
· added or removed internal ballast
· keel change
· hull change, e.g. fairing of IOR crease
· weighing/measurement
· alterations to interior/fit out
When any of these changes are made, Yachting Australia requires that official verification of the new measurements is made by an IRC Measurer. Please note that sails must be completed before measurements can be taken and the application submitted.
Please keep in mind that Yachting Australia and the RORC Rating Office reserves the right to refuse to amend a certificate if they believe that the amendment is intended to take advantage of specific race conditions (e.g. rating with a No.3 only, two days before a weekend when it is forecast to be windy!)
If you wish to see the impact changing your boat will have on your rating before committing to the costs, you can run a trial. Running a trial certificate allows you to see what the rating effect would be if you made proposed changes to the yacht, rig or sails. Any number of changes can be made on each trial certificate but trial certificates are not valid for racing. If you decide to implement the change you will need to apply for an amended certificate. Please make sure you give full details of the proposed changes, to avoid any misunderstandings.
No more than six trial certificates will be permitted in any one calendar year for any existing boat, of which not more than three may concern modifications to the hull and appendages. The RORC Rating Office reserves the right to refuse to run trial certificates without stating a reason.
If you decide to go ahead with the amendment, Yachting Australia requires official verification of the new measurements by an IRC Measurer.
Owners should note that as you revalidate, your rating may go up, down, or stay exactly the same, depending on how it is affected by changes to the IRC calculations. It will not automatically go down each year due to age allowance, although this is an integral part of the TCC calculation. Please remember that IRC is a live rule, meaning that the mathematics behind the calculation of TCC is continually adjusted on an annual basis to reflect changes in elements such as design and sailing practices. The changes affect generic types and characteristics, not individual boats or designs.
This is an important facet of IRC to understand. Each year a number of boat owners, whose ratings have increased after revalidating, contact Yachting Australia seeking an explanation. In most cases no changes have been made to the boat, as people generally accept a larger spinnaker will mean a higher rating. Great care is taken to explain what has changed is the mathematics controlling the calculation of ratings, and these changes are applied across the entire fleet of IRC boats worldwide, not just theirs.
Those planning towards the 2010 IRC year can see the 2010 IRC Rule Changes as outlined in the IRC Yearbook and on the IRC website. The IRC Yearbook and revalidation packs will be mailed to all eligible boat owners during April 2010. Yachting Australia will provide copies of the 2010 IRC Yearbooks to major yacht clubs for the benefit of their members from May 2010.
For more information please contact Amy Howie at amy.howie@yachting.org.au or by phoning 02 8424 7410.
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End of season discounts offered for 2009 IRC CertificatesCraig Heydon, Monday, 15 February 2010Yachting Australia is offering a 50 per cent discount on all 2009 IRC applications lodged by Australian boat owners, a substantial saving for those owners wishing to race in the closing months of the current IRC year. The special offer is applicable on applications received between 1 March and 31 May 2010 and only on 2009 IRC certificates.
The discounted prices for certificates obtained during this period are as follows:
There are a number of regattas which will take place around Australia between now and the end of the current IRC year on 31 May 2010. These include; the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race, the Queensland IRC Championships, Sail Port Stephens, Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, and the Melbourne to Port Fairy and Melbourne to Apollo Bay yacht races.
Please note that this offer is applicable for 2009 IRC applications only. Regular prices will apply to any applications received for 2010 IRC ratings during this time.
For further information please contact Amy Howie at Yachting Australia on (02) 8424 7410 or email amy.howie@yachting.org.au.
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Funding available for International ClassesCraig Heydon, Wednesday, 3 February 2010Yachting Australia, with the assistance of the Australian Sports Commission, is offering financial support to skippers and crews who competed successfully in recent World Championships of International and Recognised Classes. Limited funding is available to support Australian athletes competing in ISAF International and Recognised Classes World Championships. The grants are paid retrospectively based on Class World Championships held between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010. The purpose of the funding is to assist athletes with the cost of their World Championship campaign. Support is calculated using criteria that considers the athlete’s performance and where the World Championship was held.
Other criterion that the applicant must satisfy includes being a member of a Club affiliated to a MYA and a member of their class association.
The eligible classes are any ISAF International or Recognised Class, and that class must be affiliated with Yachting Australia at the time of the event. Crews must have competed in an ISAF recognised World Championship.
Recipients of the funding during the 2008/2009 year included athletes such as Marcus Hamilton and John Harris, winners of the International Contender and International Moth classes respectively, the team of Jason Muir, Bucky Smith, Paul Wyatt and Matthew Chew, International Etchells World Champions, and Steve Brewin who was second in the International A Catamaran World Championship.
Athletes intending to apply should check their and the class’ eligibility against the policy documents on the Yachting Australia website.
This policy does not apply to Olympic, Paralympic, ISAF Youth World’s participation or for World Championships where the Australian representatives are contracted members of the Australian Sailing Team, or if they have already received funding, either through direct funding or class based coaching support, from Yachting Australia.
Applications for funding must be submitted to the Yachting Australia office by 7 May 2010.
For more information contact Susan Veal by phoning 02 8424 7441 or emailing susan.veal@yachting.org.au.
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