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maltatoday SUNDAY, 18 DECEMBER 2016 Sport 56 SAILING The 17th MAPFRE/Middlesea EUROMED Regatta starts today WILFRED SULTANA FROM today to next Wednesday Malta will host 249 young sailors in the traditional racing arena of Mellieha Bay with the db Seabank Resort + Spa of Mellieha once again recognised as the official hotel of the Regatta. The occasion is the 17th MAP- FRE/Middlesea EUROMED Re- gatta 2016, organised by the Malta Young Sailors Club, which like eve- ry 'Euromed' will present its special moments. This 17th Edition is a Special One as it boasts of a record entry of 249 young sailors, hailing from over 20 countries represent- ing more then 50 different sailing clubs! Two countries represented for the first time are Canada and Cayman Islands who will be represented by a sailor each in the Laser and the Optimist Classes respectively. Besides presenting a record num- ber of international competitors the 17th MAPFRE/Middlesea EU- ROMED Regatta 2016 prides it- self of an esteemed jury made up of Nigel Vicks (GBR), Christophe Zeiser (SUI), Giorgio Dacanzo (ITA) and Mirko Urkas (CRO) un- der the Chairmanship of Malta's Peter Valentino - All International Judges. Furthermore Mike Hayes (GBR) will be Race Officer for the Laser Fleet and Bruno Ampola (ITA), In- ternational Judge and Race Officer, who will be assisting Peter Dimech on the Optimist fleet. An ongoing successful activity related to Euromed is the pre-event sailing clinic run by international coach Mauro Bencic, who is as- sisted by Jean Paul Fleri Soler, the MYSC Youth Development Officer. This year teams attending for this quality and professional sailing training includes Hungary, Neth- erlands, Norway, Austria, Slovenia, Russia and a good number of Mal- tese sailors. One other guest this year is Jon Eskade, an expert in Sailwave, which is a result programme. The past sixteen editions gave Malta the pride of six wins, fol- lowed by Russia boasting three wins, having Italy and Sweden cherishing two victories each, concluding the prestigious sixteen winners lineup with Great Britain, Iceland and Turkey showing-off one triumph each. There will be three Optimist Classes, namely, the Senior Divi- sion for Boys and Girls born be- tween 2001 and 2004. [12 – 15 years], the Cadet Division for Boys and Girls born between 2005 and 2008. [8 – 11 years], and the Begin- ners' Division for Boys and Girls born between 2001 and 2008, who have only been sailing for 12months. There will also be Laser 4.7 and Radial fleets which will be sailed in a single series but on a separate course to the Optimists. Attending the 17th MAPFRE/ Middlesea EUROMED Regatta 2016 as a guest of the organisers will be Lady Carla Stanley one of the two Vice Presidents of the In- ternational Optimist Dinghy As- sociation. 'Euromed' is held during the schools Christmas holidays where the young sailors and their families have an opportunity to enjoy the Regatta and taste the holiday values of our country. Flashback to 2015! 10-year-old Richard Schultheis, the youngest of all past sixteen Euromed (2000-2015) winners, is to defend title in 17th Edition. (Photo by Andrea Schultheis)