Queensland youth sailors bound for Brazil

12:23 AM Wed 1 Jul 2009 GMT

'Adrian Finglas' Ian Grant Click Here to view large photo

Queensland high performance sailing Coach Adrian Finglas will write another important chapter into his personal log book in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro later this month.

The modest sailor who has perfected his career from first learning the ropes in sailing a snub-nose Sabot in Brisbane's Cabbage Tree Creek will coach the OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian team when they contest the 2009 Volvo Youth World championships off the windy Brazilian coast from July 9-18.

Finglas winner of a World Tasar championship in his teens has always maintained a personal passion for coaching and reached the pinnacle in the sport when he was selected as the Australian Yngling coach for the Beijing Olympics.

He has achieved success with sailing in a range of classes from Americas Cup to ocean racing and recently played a major coaching role when Queensland's Jason Muir won the 2009 Audi World Etchells championship in Melbourne.
However the modest sailor who has experienced the tough life in 'Struggle Street' to achieve his goal as a respected coach in the sport prefers to be just known as the coach.

His personal attitude and methods of encouragement has always gelled with sailors of all ages and this was reflected when the Queensland Youth Team won five Gold Medals at the Australian championships in Mandurah West Australia earlier this year.

Four of the Gold Medallists Curtis Skinner (Laser Male) Ashley Stoddart (Laser Radial Female) and Sailboard athletes Luke Baillie and Joanna Sterling will proudly race under the Australian 'battle flag' for the first time in Brazil. Wearing the Green and Gold for the first time is the realisation of a boyhood dream for Nudgee College student Curtis Skinner.

'Representing Australia has been a dream of mine for many years and I feel honoured to finally achieve this,' he said.
Ashley Stoddart who raced in her fist Australian championship as a lightweight eleven year old four years ago says she is looking forward to getting onto the water in Buzios, Brazil and representing Australia.

'There have been lots of capsizes and tears along the way but it has all been worthwhile'.

'My preparations have been going well' said Ashley. 'We have had a Laser training regatta and several training camps recently which have been really beneficial.'

'The support has been excellent and I have increased the intensity with training on and off the water as we get closer to heading to Brazil', she said.

Luke Baillie and Joanna Sterling have tested their fitness with extensive training sessions under the astute guidance of Adrian Finglas and are race ready to test their technique against the World best sailboard athletes in Brazil.

Australia has an impressive record at the Volvo World Youth championships winning the top National team award in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007 plus the Bronze Medal in Denmark last year.

All of the athletes including the New South Wales Hobie 16 crew of cousins Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin who won an individual Bronze Medal in 2008 have the potential to retain Australia's ranking as one of the World's most successful youth sailing nations.