Dream work experience at Victory Challenge

As a few of Swedens most promising young sailors that have been given the most desirable work experience there is. Viktor Bolmgren, 17, Filip Bolmgren, 19 and Anton Thorin, 14, winners of Victory Challenge Jr. Cup and Paulina Hammer, 16, and Carl James, 17, from the sailing college in ngelholm, are on work experience with the Americas Cup challenger, Victory Challenge, in Valencia. I couldnt sleep last night, I was so excited, says Filip Bolmgren, when he arrives at the base for his first day.

Its not odd that the start of this work experience creates such tension. There five that are on site, and yet another four, have been given work experience that other young sailors can only dream of. Instead of a school desk in a cold, dark and wintery Sweden, they have flown to Spain to try out working with sailing during the preparations for the worlds most prestigious regatta. And it is sunny and 25 degrees.

Its like the middle of the summer in Sweden, when its at its best, says Filip Bolmgren, who has just returned from the US, after a term at UC Irvine in Newport Beach, California, where he won the Frosh/Soph Regatta in San Diego for the UC Irvine Anteaters. He has now applied to Southampton to study sail and power boat design.

I want to work with sailing in the future. Most of all Id like to work with the Americas Cup. His younger brother, Viktor, who is at college in Lund, says: I needed a break from studying to do some practical work. So its fantastic to be able to do it at the highest level there is in sailing.

Stefan Rahm, tactician with Victory Challenge, who is on leave of absence from his job as director of the Svenska Seglarfrbundet (the Swedish Sailing Federation), and is the initiator of the Victory Challenge Jr. Cup, as well as for the programme of work experience for students from sailing colleges, introduces Viktor, Filip, Anton, Paulina and Carl to the entire team at the morning meeting.

The team knows what its about. The trainees are not just here to watch. They are going to take part in the work. It is only a week ago that the first trainees, Emil Malmstrm, 17, and Rebecka Harding, 19, from Motala Seglargymnasium, went home. It is from them that this weeks five trainees know that they can count on working hard.

Four of them are E-dinghy sailors. The youngest, Anton, who is in year eight at Vikenskolan, is planning on moving to E-dinghy in the summer. The oldest, Filip, who will soon turn 20, is set on starting with 470s.

Juniors from Viken, on the south coast of Sweden, are easily over represented in the group. The three winners of the last Victory Challenge Jr. Cup, which was held in Gteborg last autumn, are from there. Paulina Hammer, who is at the sailing college in ngelholm, is also from there. The fact is that she, along with the two eldest Jr. Cup winners, won the competition when it was first held, in association with the Malm/Skne Louis Vuitton Acts 6 & 7 in the autumn of 2005.

It really is great to be here, she says.

Carl James is the only one who isnt from Viken, he is from rebro. This is fantastic, he says.

When they come back after their first day aboard the new Jrv (SWE 96), they are overwhelmed. Great fun, says 14-year-old Anton Thorin.

Their work experience will be over on Sunday. Then it remains for Victory Challenge to host two trainees, Victor Bergstrm and Lisa Ericson from Lerums Seglargymnasium, before it is time for the final pre-regatta of the 32nd Americas Cup, the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, which will be decided 3-7 April, and the challengers series the Louis Vuitton Cup which starts on 16 April.

Victory Challenges main partners for the 32nd Americas Cup are Tele2, Red Bull and MTG. Metro and Viasat Broadcasting are media partners. Sail Racing, LIROS Yacht Ropes, Rutgerson Marin, Pergo and OM Pimespo Ibercarretillas are official suppliers. Team suppliers are Sebago, Oakley, Optimus, Svenska Flaggfabriken, Fitness First in Valencia and Nordic Sea Hotel in Stockholm.