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52 WILFRED SULTANA THE Dutch Youth Regatta 2016 held over five days - 4th to 8th May - saw 704 youth sailors, 632 boats and 22 nations competing in its 12th Edition held in Wor- kum. In all there were six different classes sparking a high com- petitive level of play. In the 29-er Class, there were 38 entries from 8 countries, namely 38-8, Cadet Class 34-4, Laser 4.7 Class 43- 5, Laser Radial Class 44-6, Op- timist Class 401-20, and Splash Blue Class 72-1. In this grand spectacle of sail- ing a team from the Malta Young Sailors Club (MYSC) proudly f lew the Malta f lag with most positive and honourable results. Our young heroes were Craig Farrugia Vella (MLT 86) aged 15, Victoria Schultheis (MLT 201) aged 15, Antonia Schultheis (MLT 202) aged 13 and Richard Schultheis (MLT 205) aged 11. The Malta team competed in the Optimist Class, the biggest of the six competing classes - 401 sailors from 20 countries. In fact the Optimist Sailing Dinghy, the largest junior class in the World, is an internationally recognised one design single handed sailing craft, where only sailors under the age of 16 years are eligible to contest in this class racing. "The Dutch Youth Regatta is one of the biggest Youth sail- ing events in Europe since many years. Usually it's well known for strong winds and cold weather. This year was an exception with light winds and sunny, warm weather" remarked Maurizio Bencic, the Slovenian profes- sional coach assisting the Malta Young Sailors Club. In all 13 races were sailed in the Optimist Class, 10 of which were battled in light wind conditions, with 22 knots and plus charac- terizing the other three races. Results based on 13 races and 2 discards gave an outstanding portrayal of the fantastic per- formance of the Maltese young- sters. Youngest member of the Mal- tese team, 11-year-old Richard Schultheis (MLT 205) who in the first 8 races was even leading, won second place 8 points be- hind Swiss Max Wallenberg (SUI 1749). In the Benjamin Class (equivalent to the Cadet Class in Malta) Richard won with a com- fortable distance in points from the second placed, Slovenian Daniel Cante (SLO 211). Magnificently the Malta f lag shone all the way with a 4th plac- ing overall to Victoria Schultheis (MLT 201), a 9th placing over- all to Antonia Schultheis (MLT 202) and a 13th placing overall to Craig Farrugia Vella (MLT 86). Indeed a moment of pride to Maltese sailing in general and the Maltese Young Sailing Club in particular when having in the Top 13 placings - Malta with 4 wins, Germany 2, and Switzer- land, Slovenia, Turkey, Poland, France, Sweden, and the Nether- lands all with 1 win. The Schultheis family of Ger- man nationality have moved to Malta in 2011. Just a year later Victoria, Antonia and Rich- ard yet unfamiliar with sailing joined the Malta Young Sailors Club for their first taste of the water sport. In a short spell of time besides this success in the Dutch Youth Regatta the Schultheis expe- rienced other notable sailing achievements. In 2014 at the Optimist Eu- ropean Championship in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland: Victoria fin- ished in Silver f leet with Richard in Gold f leet. In 2015 at the Optimist Euro- pean Championship in Pwllheli, UK: Victoria won the Bronze medal with a 3rd in the Gold f leet, Richard came 3rd in the Silver f leet, and Antonia fin- ished 25th in Silver f leet. Richard is currently leading the national rankings in the Op- timist Class. "The Club feels proud of be- ing behind the success of the three young Schultheis sailors who joined us 4 years ago and MYSC taught them sailing from scratch. Craig Farrugia Vella who started sailing with Birzeb- bugia Sailing Club joined the MYSC 2 years ago", remarked Jean Paul Fleri Soler the MYSC Coach. "Over the past two years we have been working hand in hand with one of the best coaches for Optimists in the world, Maurizio Bencic from Slovenia, who is a professional coach and also de- signs Optimist sails for '1 sails'. Mauro has been traveling to Malta almost on a monthly basis to monitor the sailors' progress and to assist me with improving their sailing techniques . Mauro and I will be working together at the World Cham- pionships which will be held at the end of June in Portugal. He will also be the coach for the Malta team during the European Championships which will be held in Italy later this summer", revealed Fleri Soler. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 MAY 2016 Sport SAILING MYSC sailors excel in Dutch Youth Regatta 11-year-old Richard Schultheis (MLT 205) sailing to a prestigious victory at the Dutch Youth Regatta 2016 YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt