Opti World Championships to light up Napier for New Years
More than 200 of the world’s most talented young sailors will converge on Napier, New
Zealand this December and January, for nearly a fortnight of competitive racing and
shoreside activities.
The occasion is the Optimist World Championships, an event that celebrates the fun and
challenging nature of the Optimist sailing dinghy, and seeks out those that have best
mastered the art of racing this popular small boat.
“There are at least 130,000 Optimist sailing dinghies in the world, making it one of
the most popular classes, and in New Zealand, as elsewhere, the boat has given many
high profile Olympians, America’s Cup sailors, and ocean racers, a great start to a
great sailing career,” says Opti Worlds Organising Committee Chairman Peter Dawson of
the boat that is commonly used for young children to learn to sail in, until they are
aged about 15.
Entries have already been received from 39 different nations, including Brazil, Russia
Sweden and India, and the Organising Committee are still hoping up to 50 nations will
attend in total.
"Napier will be putting on a great welcome for competitors, their parents and
supporters," says Mayor of Napier, Barbara Arnott. "The sailing venue here at Napier
Sailing Club is fabulous, from beaches to vineyards and culture, we have much to see
and do, especially for those coming from the Northern Hemisphere winter."
New Zealand has a history of proud success at this event: in 2007 Chris Steele won the
event outright, and Alex Maloney was the top girl and took third place overall, while
New Zealand took the prize for top team.
Female sailor Noppakao Poonpat from Thailand is the current reigning World Champion.
The Opti Worlds programme commences on 20 December with a four day sailing clinic, and
an invitation regatta for all internationals and 100 of the top New Zealand Optimist
sailors, runs on 28 and 29 December. There will be a welcoming ceremony and
registration event, and Championship Races will run from 1 January - 9 January 2012.
For the many families who will be away from home for the holiday season, Christmas Day
will be celebrated at Eskdale Reserve, a beautiful Riverpark in the Hawke's Bay.
The 2011 Opti Worlds NZ is supported by New Zealand Major Events, Hawkes Bay Tourism,
SPARC, and the City of Napier. Website design has been provided by Catalyst, and other
supporters include EuroCity Cars, the Victoria Cruising Club, Vodafone and Air New
Zealand.
OptiWorlds Vital Stats:
30 December 2011 – 9 January 2012
The boat: a safe and simple dinghy that is one of the world’s most popular designs
The racing: 9 days of championship racing
The competitors: Around 250 sailors aged up to 15 years
The countries: Teams from 50 nations including reigning champs Thailand
The host club: Napier Sailing Club, Napier, New Zealand
Famous sailors that have started out in Optis include: Ben Ainslie
The big sponsors: New Zealand Major Events, Hawkes Bay Tourism, SPARC, City of Napier,
Air New Zealand, Vodafone, Euro City Napier, Victoria Cruising Club, Lion Foundation
The technology: GPS tracking and live video coverage online
The website: www.optiworldsnz.com