We know they will fly the Omani flag with pride as they continue to build firm foundations for success in sailing for our country.”ĭr. "We feel extremely proud of these five young sailors who have reached the top of their national ranking to represent us at this prestigious championship. Tarik Al Junaidi, Acting CEO of Oman Shipping Company and co-sponsor of the Oman Sail Youth Programme said they had been watching the steady progress of the Optimist sailors in a range of events this year. This continuous striving for excellence is a core characteristic of top level athletes and coaches and this is what we are aiming to achieve.” We are all always trying to improve in everything we do. “For sure we believe our performance in South Africa will be a lot better than last year. For every member of the youth program team, every event makes us better. “AbdulAziz was also the team leader for the Omani team at the recent ISAF Youth World Championships in Cyprus and has been the team leader in almost all championships in which Oman has entered a youth team. Oman Sail youth program managerMarina Psichogiou said coaching will also benefit from the upcoming African championship. “We hope we will all be able to get a lot more from the event in terms of knowledge, experience, joy of the regatta and making new friends as we can all be a little more relaxed,” said Al Mayahi “We believe they will be a lot more confident than last year when it was the first time for both sailors and coaches alike at the African championships. Mansoor, Salim andMarwan were also members of the Marina Bandar Al Rowdha Optimist team named as the most outstanding youth team at Oman’s inaugural Sailor of the Year Awards earlier this year.Īl Jabri and Al Wahabi had also been selected to represent Oman teams at the recent GCC championships and the Al Bareh regatta in Bahrain. Their selection to represent Oman at world class regattas is entirely performance based and an integral part of the Oman Sail Youth Programme’s mission to develop positive sportsmanship and a competitive winning spirit through sailing.Ĭoach Suhail Al Mayahi said the five sailors had worked hard to qualify for the national team. The five young sailors participating in this year’s IODA African Championship have had the benefit of being part of the Oman Sail Youth Team squad of about 30 young sailors who attend coaching clinics and compete in regular national ranking regattas. Since July last year a structured “pathway to excellence” Youth Programme was launched by Oman Sail and sponsored by Omantel and Oman Shipping Company to both contribute to the development of Omani youth through sport and fast track performance through high quality sail training programmes. “This will be the absolute first time that we have the opportunity to measure our progress and a telling demonstration of the serious sailing development programme we have put in place,” said Al Shidi. “Last year’s team had only been sailing for a mere six months but since then we have worked very hard and look forward to seeing how much we have improved. They will be accompanied by Oman Sail youth programme co-ordinator Abdulaziz Al Shidi coach Suhail Al Mayahi and Oman Sail youth program manager Marina Psichogiou.Īl Shidi said the championships offered the young Omani team the chance to measure how much they had progressed in the 12 months since their maiden entry last year in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Mansoor Al Mahrouqi, 14, Salim Al Alawi, 12, and Ahmed Al Mujaini, 14, return to the IODA African Championships again this year while it will be a first time for twelve year olds Marwan Al Jabri and Zakariya Al Wahabi. The 2013 IODA African Championships will be contested by over 70 competitors representing eight nations from the African continent plus teams from Germany, the British Virgin Isles and Oman at Langebaan, near Cape Town from 10 – 18 August.
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