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News & Events | Youth Programme News
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12 Young Sailors Graduate from the Youth Training Programme
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The 2006/2007 Graduation
Photo: Debra Douglas
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12 Young Sailors Graduate from the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme 2006/2007 Season
Another 12 young sailors, ranging from 18 – 20 years of age, graduated from the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme on Wednesday evening and another 12 sailors venture into the next step of their sailing careers!
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year the RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme has graduated 335 sailors and many of them are now household names reaching the top of their sport. Sailors such as Mark Christensen, Gavin Brady, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, David Endean, Carl Williams, Sharon Ferris, Amy Mulcahy, Jessica Smyth, Simon Minoprio, Adam Minoprio the list goes on and on............
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Wednesday’s graduation ceremony at the Squadron and was attended by Sponsors, Supporters, Graduates and their families. Each graduate spoke of the year(s) achievements as well as their future sailing endeavours.
Graduate of 1 year Duncan Feeley
Hamish Crossan
Graduate of 2 years Garth Ellingham
Dan Jowett
Scott Morrison
Matt Hill
Graduate of 3 years Tom Bentham
David Wood
Training Committee Member and staunch supporter of the Programme, Ian Bourgeois thanked the sponsors – “without them this programme would not have been available to these young sailors for the past two decades.”
10 individual boat sponsors –
International Paints, Watts & Hughes, Ports of Auckland, Harken, Pagani, Western Mailing, Soar Printing, CRC, Doyle Sails
Naming sponsor - Lion Foundation
Vehicle supplier – Giltrap City Toyota, Cordage supplier – Donaghys, Yacht Design – Elliott Marine.
Training Manager Guy Pilkington took the opportunity to thank the many Race Management, Umpires and Graduates who continually arrive on the weekends to ensure that the level of training & racing is of the highest standard.
The coaches who have supported the teams travelling overseas this year, along with Guy, have been Roy Dickson, who attended the Harken Youth Match Racing Regatta at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Sydney and the Centreport Youth International in Wellington. Graduate Amy Mulcahy travelled with the team to the Harken Women’s Open Match Racing at the CYCA in Sydney.
During the Squadron’s Club Championships weekend the entire youth programme sailed onboard member’s yachts, Roy Dickson’s ‘Playbuoy’, Graeme Dagg’s ‘Zero Tolerance’, Youth Training Committee Chairman John Rountree’s ‘The Numbers Game’, John Kensington & Jan Dawson’s ‘Psycho Circus’. The youth crew onboard ‘Playbuoy’ won the Windward/leewards weekend and also the overall Division C Club Championships.
It has been another fantastic year for the Youth Programme with two recent wins at the Centreport Youth International in Wellington and the Squadron’s Youth International – both helmed by Phil Robertson.
During the year teams were selected to represent the Youth Programme at 12 national and international events with outstanding results.
As the Youth Training Programme heads into its 20th year Coach Guy Pilkington is looking forward to a month off before the new intake begins on Sunday 6May.
‘We are very excited about this season, we have 15 members returning for their 2nd or 3rd years and have had 26 youths apply for the 20 positions we have available which is a great start.’
So where are the girls? Samantha Osborne is returning to the programme for her 3rd year, Taylor Holland & Hannah Morris are returning for the 2nd years and we have 4 girls joining the programme this year!
Many Squadron boat owners were thanked for providing their yachts for the programme members to give them wider keelboat experience. Rear Commodore, Ross Masters loaned his Young 88 ‘Outrageous’ to a youth team who came second in last year’s Thursday Sprints Series with graduate Tim Lidgard on board as coach. |
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The 2006/2007 Graduation
Photo: Debra Douglas
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