Oman Youth Sailing Championship in Sur

Oman's young and talented sailors will be in action when the 2017 Oman Youth Sailing Championship will be held in Sur from August 18-22.

More than 80 sailors, aged between ten and 17 years, are expected to be in action during the event that will feature races in three classes -  Optimist, Laser 4.7 and Techno 293.

The youngsters competing have been drawn from the Omantel Youth Programme and all four Oman Sail sailing schools – Sur, Marina Bandar al Rowdha, Mussanah and Al Mouj Muscat.

Oman Sail has also invited three sailors from the UAE to compete in the Laser 4.7 fleet.

A file photo of young Omani sailors during a domestic regatta

A four-day training camp for the competitors ahead of the championship is also being held along with a workshop for the race management team conducted by World Sailing International Race Officer Jerrold Wei from Singapore.  “The event is a great platform for our young sailors to match their skills against their peers across the sultanate,” said Rashid al Kindi, Oman Sail's sailing development manager.

It the fourth year the championship is being held.

The Optimist class has the largest field with 47 sailors competing for overall, national, girls and U12 titles. There are 21 sailors in the Laser 4.7 class, and 13 have entered in the Techno windsurfing in U15, U17 and open categories. There is also an award for the best school team.