RYA start training next crop of potential Olympians

Sydney is now past and Athens is the new goal for Great Britain's top performing Olympic sport. The training and development programme for Great Britain's next generation of potential Olympic sailors for 2004 and 2008, RYA Team GBR, will get underway at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy next week (12 - 17 February).

Over fifty selected sailors with proven talent (across eight of the eleven Olympic disciplines) will be put through a rigorous five-day programme. For some, it will be an assessment of their suitability for the RYA Olympic Development Squad whilst for others the week will propel their campaigns into the 2001 European season, as well as their respective class world championships later in the year.

A large majority of the sailors are graduates of the Volvo RYA Youth Squad programme although some leading names, including 49er class Sydney Olympic Silver Medallist Simon Hiscocks (crewing for past European champion Paul Brotherton), will be in Weymouth for some advanced training with RYA coaches.

Three more sailing members of Team GB, Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield (470) and Nick Dempsey (Mistral) will also be laying down the foundations of 2004 campaigns.

In the Laser fleet, recent Miami Olympic Classes Regatta winner Paul Goodison is widely tipped to take over where his former training partner and now Olympic champion, Ben Ainslie, left off.

With a number of top international Laser sailors taking up new challenges after the Sydney Olympics, including the Gold and Bronze Medallists, a win for Goodison at his first ISAF Grade One event (Miami) will be the perfect spring board into a challenging season.

He will be looking to go one better than his Silver medal at the last year's European championship at this September's event in Slovenia (8th - 18th) with the ultimate aim of securing a world championship medal in Ireland in July (9th - 18th).

Goodison and teammate Ed Wright will be training in Weymouth with four other bright hopefuls who all hope to make the transition from the Volvo RYA Youth Squad to senior level this season and join the RYA Olympic Development Programme.

Shirley Robertson's Gold Medal in the Europe class has amassed strong interest in the women's single-handed discipline, which will boast the largest line up next week as ten sailors now look to assert themselves as the new GB number one and future international medal contender. Shirley will be on hand mid week to offer coaching advice and ensure the squad are all focused.

The Star, Yngling and Tornado classes will be absent from Weymouth. In the keelboat classes, a number of sailors are currently considering Star campaigns although none are currently confirmed. The RYA has implemented a separate Yngling development programme which will start with a training camp from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in March while the World Class Performance Tornado squad are currently in South Africa preparing for their world championships which also start next week (10th - 17th).

"Although sailing's record breaking three Olympic Gold and two Olympic Silver medals was a dream result, every GB sport that performed well in Australia can ill afford to rest on their laurels. Every other nation will be evaluating how we achieved our results and looking forward to leap frog our effort over the next four years," explained Stephen Park, the RYA's Olympic Development Squad Manager. "The performance of the sailing members of Team GB in Sydney proved conclusively that the combination of talent and dedication with the back up of the world class coaching and sports science support the RYA have put in place can create Olympic medallists. Every sailor in the World Class funded squad can see that and are keen to start their programmes and maintain our status as the world's leading Olympic sailing nation," added Stephen.

The New Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, which was the base for last April's Chernikeeff Sailing Regatta - Olympic Trials, will continue to be one of the key training camps for RYA Team GBR towards 2004 and indeed 2008. "It's great to start the year by hosting the squad again," commented Phil Gollop, Managing Director of Sail Force Limited, which run the Academy. "Judging by the Academy bookings and events programme, 2001 promises to be a very successful and exciting year. From local sailors to national squads, top coaches and world class sailors, the response to the Academy facilities is just first class, which is a very encouraging sign to the future".

The borough of Weymouth and Portland also continue to show their support to the RYA, the Academy and of course the sailors. "We're delighted to have the opportunity to welcome the RYA Team back to the resort and will continue to support all members of RYA Team GBR as they train on our waters in preparation for what we all hope will be another highly successful four year period of events in the run up to Athens," said Weymouth and Portland Borough Council Director of Tourism and Corporate Services, Ian Locke.

OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT SQUAD WEEK SAILORS: (provisional)

FINN CLASS

• Charlie Cumbley - from Teignmouth in Devon
• Chris Brittle - from Rearsby in Leicestershire
• Ian Clingan - from Northampton
  WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE SQUAD ATTENDING
• Andrew Simpson - from Windlesham in Surrey
• David Mellor - from Fareham in Hampshire

• Nicola Muller - from Truro in Cornwall
• Kit Stenhouse - from Newton Linford in Leicestershire
• Kirsty Bonar - from Tugby in Leicestershire
• Bonnie Holt - from Portsmouth in Hampshire
• Bryony Percy - from Winchester in Hampshire
• Lizzie Vickers - from Hampshire
• Amanda Simpson - from Windlesham in Surrey
• Andrea Brewster - from Borton in Hampshire
• Katie Archer - from Woodbridge in Suffolk

• Jim Taylor - from St Leonards in Sussex
• Dan Holman - from Millbrook in Cornwall
• Andrew Walsh - from Truro in Cornwall
• Andrew Commander - from Shaldon in Devon
• Mark Howard - from Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire
  WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE SQUAD ATTENDING
• Paul Goodison - from Rotherham in South Yorkshire
• Edward Wright - from Bournemouth in Dorset

WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE SQUAD ATTENDING

• Nick Rogers (from Lymington in Hampshire) and Joe Glanfield (from Exmouth in Devon) both sailing member of Team GB from Sydney 2000
• Chris Draper - from Romsey in Hampshire
• Graham Vials (from Darlington in County Durham) and Dan Newman (from Southampton in Hampshire)

• Josie Gibson (from Tharston nr Norwich) and Saskia Clark (from West Mersea in Essex) · Christina Bassadone (from Southampton in Hampshire) and Jenny Heely (from Southampton in Hampshire) · Sarah Ayton (from Ashford in Middlesex) and Jane Cummins · Libby Greenhalgh (from Southampton in Hampshire) and Alison McLeod (from Hampshire)

• Mark Asquith (from Hampshire)and Matt Howard (from Lee on Solent in Hampshire)
• Henry Clark and Alex Tobutt (unknown)
• Mark and Sam Richmond - from London
• Stevie Morrison and crew (unknown)
  WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE SQUAD ATTENDING
• Paul Brotherton (from Hamble in Hampshire) and Simon Hiscocks (from Newdigate in Surrey) Simon was sailing member of Team GB, Sydney 2000
• Alistair Richardson (from Bournemouth in Dorset) and Peter Greenhalgh (from Southampton in Hampshire)

• Toby Monk - from Copford in Essex
• Ollie Woodcock - from Ashton Under Hill in Worcestershire
• Ian Jamieson - from Chedzoy in Somerset
• Hugh Simms-Williams - from Bristol
• John White - from Newcastle Under Lyme in Staffordshire
  WORLD CLASS PERFORMANCE SQUAD ATTENDING
• Nick Dempsey - from Orton Wistow in Peterborough - sailing member of Team GB, Sydney 2000
• Dominic Tidey - from Orsett in Essex

• Jessica Ash - from Basingstoke in Hampshire
• Catherine Potter - from Nottingham
• Bryony Shaw - from Headington in Oxford