Young Sailors Tackle Heavy winds in Poland - Emerging Nations Program

Heavy winds coupled with expert coaching provided 11 young sailors a steep learning curve at the 2017 Youth Worlds Emerging Nations Program (ENP) clinic in Gdansk, Poland.

From the 28 June – 4 July, Gdansk hosted the ENP clinic, which aims to increase the number of sailors and MNAs participating at the Youth Sailing World Championships, with the aim to narrow the performance gap and promote worldwide competition. 

Eleven sailors from five nations gathered, with their national coaches, to focus on sailor ability as well as coach performance. This clinic focused specifically on the Laser Radial class and included male and female sailors.

Maciej Szafran, Development Co-ordinator of the Polish Yachting Association, said, “This clinic gives the opportunity for various sailing nations to get together and work like a team, something they don’t get to do while competing.” 

The young sailors were met with wet and stable conditions for the first few days, however sailing wasn’t all that took place at the ENP clinic.

World Sailing Nominated Expert, Tim Cross, shared what an average day would look like at the clinic,
“Our usual day will include an early morning fitness and exercise class, for an hour just before breakfast. After breakfast, we would get together and talk about wind directions and weather conditions, and how sailors interact with them. Following that, we would then practice sailing strategies on water. The evening will then conclude of feedback and group discussions on how we can improve, not only how we sail but also our diet and nutrition.”

As the clinic drew to an end, Gdansk was blessed with plenty of sunshine and winds of 20 knots, with 25 knot gusts.

The 11 sailors had an amazing experience sailing in these conditions and it gave some of them an opportunity they wouldn’t necessarily get.

“I have never sailed in these conditions before and it is difficult for me,” commented Alexandra Matkava, a Laser Radial sailor from Georgia, “However, after the second day of sailing in 20 knots I got used to it and now I feel more confident in doing it daily.”

From a coaching perspective, Branislav Erac of Serbian, gave his take on the clinic, “The Emerging Nations Program is really useful for Nikola [Banjac, a 15-year-old male Radial sailor] because he will be taking part in the Europa Cup here in a few days. He has the opportunity to meet his competitors and test out Poland’s sailing conditions. This clinic has also helped me learn from other coaches.”

Banjac will take the knowledge from the clinic into the Europa Cup, however, looking further ahead he has some high goals, “My ultimate dream would be to compete in the America’s Cup. For now, my short-term goal is to compete in the Youth Olympic Games.”

After a successful seven days in Gdansk, the seven males and four female sailors will be returning to their home nation with ambitions to compete at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Sanya, China at the end of 2017.  

Emerging Nations Program

The Youth Worlds Emerging Nations Program (ENP) aims to increase the number of sailors and MNAs participating at the Youth Worlds, with the aim to narrow the performance gap and promote worldwide competition.
The ENP clinics focus on coach performance, sailor ability and national training scheme development, with the goal to enhance sailing within the home nations, allowing future generations and sailing as a sport to benefit.