The Performance Academy continues to develop new and exciting opportunities on the water
by Sally Turner, ASF 28 May 2021 17:44 BST
The Performance Academy continues to develop new and exciting opportunities on the water © Andrew Simpson Foundation
Since its official launch last September, the Performance Academy, powered by Andrew Simpson Centres, has been striving to enable and support sailors for success at every level.
"Through our team of expert coaches, we have been able to offer high quality training for sailors in our class specific programmes and foiling pathways over the winter months. This summer we will continue to support sailors and provide them with the very best opportunities for development." - James ParkerMowbray, Performance Academy Head Coach
The programmes support sailors across a variety of RYA recognised classes, working alongside class associations to provide complimentary training throughout the pathway. Additionally, the brandnew foiling pathway, for both sailors and windsurfers, aims to develop the next generations foiling racing skills.
"Despite the challenges over the past year, the ASC Performance Academy continues to make fantastic progress. We strongly believe in all of the benefits associated with competitive sailing and windsurfing and we strive to ensure that everyone involved in our programmes has the ability to succeed.'' - Iain Percy OBE, Performance Academy Advisor.
The continuation of the successful partnership with the UKLA (UK Laser Association) enables opportunities for regional training with quality coaches for ILCA sailors. The Performance Academy is also supporting sailors at specific summer events alongside running complimentary training programmes for ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 sailors. To achieve this, the Performance Academy is proud to announce that James Hadden will join the team.
"I am extremely excited to be joining the growing Performance Academy team. I am looking forward to supporting the delivery and development of high quality ILCA training and future international event support, ensuring sailors have the opportunity to succeed at every level. I am really proud to be a part of the team and coaching this year's programme"- James Hadden, Performance Academy Head Coach
Recently, the announcement that the iQFoil has become a British Youth Recognised Class has added to the success of the Performance Academy WindFoil pathway.
The pathway has guided many sailors through the transition into the iQFoil class and the Academy will continue to support these sailors with additional dates in the coming months. Alongside this, the new "Performance Windsurfing Club", based at the Andrew Simpson Centre in Portsmouth, allows high quality training and regular participation for advanced Techno or foiling windsurfers.
To support the above, Henri Lloyd is providing technical clothing to the Performance Academy.
Henri-Lloyd has a long-standing relationship with Sir Ben Ainslie CBE four times Olympic Gold medallist and America's Cup sailor. Ben is a Non-Executive Director on the board of the Henri Lloyd Group and their Chief Technical Advisor and is a founding Trustee of the Andrew Simpson Foundation.
"As part of our long-standing partnership with the Andrew Simpson Foundation, we are proud to be further supporting the Performance Academy through our range of performance products, to be used by high level coaches both on and off the water. In addition to our work with the Foundation that supports grass-root sailing, this project provides an opportunity for sailors to succeed at every level, working with top professionals in our sport." - Ross Partridge, Performance Sales Manager.
Visit our dedicated website at ascperformanceacademy.org to find out about the dates and training programmes on offer across our affiliated centres in locations across the UK.