2001 Australian Youth Championship - Sailing

by Jacqueline Ellis on 13 Jan 2001 2001 World Youth Silver Medallists Melissa Bryant & Martha Leonard from WA are showing early stages of being unstopable in the
Australian Youth Championship being sailed on Hobart's Derwent River.

Having not finished Race 1 due to broken gear, the girls have won the next four races. Now all competitors have completed five
races they are able to drop their worst race from their total score - this now puts Melissa & Martha into a solid lead. They have not
only been the first placed crew in the Girls Double Handed Dinghy event - they have been beating all the boys too! The Girls and
Boys Double Handed fleets, being sailed in the 420 class, are racing together and Melissa & Martha have shown they they can mix
it with the best having won two races overall today. Two crews from Queensland fill the next two places, Anna Patterson & Emma
Poulsen are second with eight points and Lydia Allen & Eva Joyce, the early Championship leaders, are now third on 10 points.

Also seemingly unstoppable today is New Zealand visitor Miranda Powrie in the Girls Single Handed Dinghy fleet being raced in the
Laser Radial. Miranda is competing in this Championship for practise before the New Zealand National Youth Team trials which are
due to be held in April. With five straight wins, her neareat rival and first placed Australian is Katherine Wade from NSW who
has three seconds and a fourth giving her a score of 10 points. Following very closely in third is Riana Haldane from SA with 11
points.

The Australian boys in the Single Handed Dinghy event are also being given the hurry along by the three visiting New Zealanders in
the Laser fleet. Ben Lamb from Lake Macquarie in NSW still holds the outright lead after he posted a 7th and two 1st in todays
three races. Dropping his 7th it leaves Ben with four wins and four points. Michael Bullot and David Weaver both from New Zealand
have 10 and 14 points respectively, with the next two Australians, Tim Austin(NSW) and Tom Slingsby(NSW) equal on 17 points.

The Boys and Girls Sailboard fleet had a good day again today, with the lighter morning breeze allowing some of the lighter
competitors to show their form. John Paget from NSW won the morning race and with a third and a second this afternoon has
brought him up to one point behind second overall, Chris Lowbridge, also from NSW. James Graunfelder, another from NSW still
leads the Boys three points clear of second and Jacqueline Bonnitcha also of NSW is leading the Girls event.

The Boys Double Handed Dinghy event is shaping up as a show down between two fellow Queenslanders. After five races, only
three points separate the two crews. Currently leading are 2001 Youth World Bronze Medallists, Gavin Fee & Tom Burger with four
race wins and a 9th place, which they can drop, leaving them with four points. Matthew Chew & James Seymour have three
seconds and a race win today in Race 3 for a total of seven points. West Australians Nicholas Davis & Brian Polkinghorn are in
thrid on 13 points.

Racing continues tommorrow with two races scheduled to start at one o'clock. The final two races will be sailed on Sunday.

FULL RESULTS are posted on the AYF Website at www.yachting.org.au. For further information contact Jacqueline Ellis on 0417
665 283


2001 Australian Youth Championship Statistics . . .

The regatta will be used as one of two events to provide the basis of selection of the 2001 Australian Youth Team to represent
Australia at the World Youth Championship to be sailed in France in July 2001.

9 Races to be sailed over 4 days (2 races Thur 11th, 3 races Fri 12th, 2 races Sat 13th & 2 races Sun 14th).

92 Competitors sailing in 57 boats/boards

Double Handed Dinghy Girls sailed in the 420 class - 9 boats
Double Handed Dinghy Boys sailed in the 420 class - 19 boats
Single Handed Dinghy Girls sailed in the Laser Radial class -8 boats
Single Handed Dinghy Boys sailed in the Laser class - 16 boats
Sailboard Girls sailed in the Mistral One Design class - 1 boards
Sailboard Boys sailed in the Mistral One Design class - 4 boards

States represented:

NSW - 13 boats
VIC - 10 boats
SA - 5 boats
QLD - 11 boats
WA - 6 boats
TAS - 8 boats

New Zealand - 4 boats

All competitors must be 18 years or under. Youngest competitor at the event 13years.