Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/221559
22 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 DECEMBER 2013 SAILING Record entry of 138 sailors from 10 countries WILFRED SULTANA MALTA will be hosting a racing fleet of 138 sailors from 10 countries for what has now become an annual appointment for the Optimists Class EUROMED Malta Championship. The Event, the 14th in the series and this year with a record entry, is organised by the Malta Young Sailors Club with the cooperation of the Kunsill Malti għall-iSport and the Mellieħa Local Council and held under the patronage of the Malta Sailing Federation. The Optimist Sailing Dinghy is acknowledged as a one design single handed sailing craft where only sailors under the age of 16 years are eligible to contest in this class racing. This is the largest junior class in the World and a recognised ISAF International Class. The international racing fleet participating in the Malta 4-day event – from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd December - includes both male and female sailors with ages ranging from 8 to 15 years olds, the youngest being Malta's 8-years-old Richard Schulteis. The Malta Championship is also an attraction to Laser dinghy sailors where participation is not constrained by an age limit. This year 18 sailors will make up the Laser Class with 120 sailors competing in the Optimist Class. The Russians, who have won three of the last four editions, are coming again – 27 sailors from three clubs; from the Sochi Sailing Club of Krasnodar (Taganrog Yachting Federation), the St. Petersburg River Club and from the Yacht Club St. Petersburg. Great Britain will be represented by 16 sailors hailing from The Royal Lymington Yacht Club, the Hayling Island Yacht Club, the Weir Wood Sailing Club, the Parkstone Yacht Club, the Chelmarsh Yacht Club, and from the Burghfield Sailing Club. An interesting participation is that of Matthew Hardie who lives in the UAE and is a member of Du- All set for another exciting EuroMed Malta Championship – Multinational young sailors racing for honour and fun bai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC) but being also a member of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club he will be racing as part of the GBR team. Romania will have two sailors, an Optimist sailor and another 4.7, both members of the Romanian Royal Yacht Club. Israel, regulars in recent editions, will have 8 sailors this year coming from the Haifa Sailing Club and the Eilat Nautical Sports Centre while Belgium (Royal North Sea Yacht Club) and the Netherlands (WSV Braassermermeer) will have one competitor each. 'First Timers' at Euromed will be Cyprus (Cyprus Sailing Federation) and Austria (Sailing Club Traunkirchen) with 6 and 2 sailors respectively. The participants with the shortest and less weary trip – just a 90minute catamaran crossing – will be 14 Sicilian sailors who will be coming from the Circolo Nic Catania, here accompanied by their coach Enrico Tortorici. 8 other sailors will be coming from the Italian mainland, namely from the Circolo Velico Crotone, the Lega Navale Italiana Ancona and the first time from Reggio a new club run by Paola Chila, the Associazione Velica Pasquale Chila. The Euromed is not only a big challenge to Maltese young sailors but a great opportunity to participate in an international event against other foreign sailors on home waters thus without the need to travel overseas. For the foreign sailors, who are normally accompanied by other members of their family, the Malta Championship is an occasion to enjoy a competitive event in milder weather conditions from those prevailing in their countries. Further- more the foreign groups always make it a priority on their sojourn to go on excursions to Malta's places of historical and cultural interest. Certainly, Euromed is an established winter event and a typical local attraction under the sport tourism spectrum. This year the Maltese contingent, with sailors from the Malta Young Sailors Club and the Birżebbuġa Sailing Club will be made up of 40 competitors. But how does our sailors prepare for such an important contest? "Our young sailors look upon taking part in such a multi-national and high level event with great pride. For a good number of weekends leading to the event a strict preparation programme is followed by prospective Euromed competitors. This is normally made up of two, morning and afternoon sessions of class room work related to theory and tactics briefings with about five hours of on the water training interrupted only with a 30 minute break for lunch. From the end of November training is held on Saturdays and Sundays in Mellieha Bay to help the sailors get used to the conditions of the Championship racing arena. Looking back Maltese sailors perform confidently well having won five of the thirteen Euromeds", recounts Jean Paul Fleri Soler who has been the coach of the Malta Young Sailors Club for the past fourteen years. As usual the Malta Euromed Championship will be held under the jurisdiction of a panel of four International Jury Members. Luigi Bertini of the Federazione Italiana Vela will be Jury Chairman who will be assisted by Rainer Kornfeld (Austria), Francois Salin and Fabio Furlani (Italy) all International Judges. This panel will be backed by a National Jury team made up of Jovin Rausi and Godwin Zammit supported by the Malta Sailing Federation President Anna Rossi, who will run the technical and logistic aspect of the event. Peter Dimech will be the Championship's Principle Race Officer. The official hotel of Euromed 2013 is the Seabank Resort+Spa in Mellieha while Maxima Lido on the sandy beach of Mellieha Bay will house the race office and the launching area of the Championship. TABLE FOOTBALL Valletta Lions Table Football Club eliminated in the Quarter Final but gain six ranking positions VALLETTA Lions Table Football Club this weekend played in the Teams event in the Cardiff GP in which they placed second in the group stage winning against Cardiff (4-0) and Manchester Swifts (3-1) whilst losing 2-1 against the Belgian side of Hennuyer. In the quarter final they drew 1-1 against the strong UK team of Bristol but unfortunately a goal in the dying seconds gave Bristol the qualification on goal difference. The club has now moved to the 35th position from the 41st position held before this weekend games in the World Ranking with 398 points. On Saturday the Lions players participated in the Open category and both captain Joseph Mifsud and Charles Aquilina playing in the Veterans category lost in the Semi finals. The other 3 players playing for the club in the Open Category had different outcomes where Steve Austin was eliminated in the quarter final, Dutchman Jerrel van Keimpema lost in the last 16 whilst Roderick Vassallo did not make it for the last 32. Valletta Lions TFC team during the Cardiff Grand Prix (left to right:Charles Aquilina, Jerrel van Keimpema (Dutch player). Steve Austin, Roderick Vassallo and captain Joseph Mifsud)