YA Australian Youth Championships 2016- Bic Techno

The YA Australian Youth Championships were held at Woollahra Sailing Club in Rose Bay, Sydney from 9-14 January.

Girls and boys windsurfed in one fleet on the Bic Techno 293 using 5.8, 6.8 and 7.8 metre sails. Ten races were held over 4 days in a variety of conditions with the kids staying out on the harbour between races and for many hours each day. These events really require a lot of endurance and participating alone is no mean feat!

Courtney Schoutrop from Queensland won the girls' division and did an exceptional job keeping up with the boys, pumping even the biggest sail, showing great perseverance and being a great role model for the younger girls participating or watching the event. Abbey Calvert from Tasmania who took 2nd place showed a lot of courage in the sometimes difficult conditions including strong wind, big chop and avoiding the ferries and other traffic on the harbour.

Angus Calvert from Tasmania won the boys' division coming 1st in 5 races and 2nd in the other 5 with his strong and consistent performance earning him a well deserved trophy. Alex Halank from NSW who claimed 4 Australian windsurfing titles in 2015 in Freestyle, Slalom, Freerace and Wavesailing took 2nd place after winning the first race of the event and taking 3 out of 4 victories on the last two days of the event. Although John Lynch from Northern Territory ended up in 3rd place, he won a race on the first day and came 2nd in 4 of the races in the first half of the event. He was often the first to the top mark demonstrating he could dominate with more experience. Unfortunately, this year is his last in the youth category although he showed he definitely has a great future in windsurfing.

Some of the kids were lucky to have some coaching from David Bell who gave them the benefit of some of his many years of racing experience. Even some windsurfers who haven't yet started competing enjoyed Belly's teaching methods. He certainly makes it fun!