Over 250 of Australia’s most talented young sailors are expected to descend on the Mornington Peninsula early in the New Year to compete at the 2020 Australian Youth Championships.

The eagerly anticipated event will be hosted by the Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club from the 10^th-14^th of January, with athletes expected to come from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region to compete.

Sorrento is well placed to host the event having run a highly successful 2014 Australian Youth championships in conjunction with Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, and are also in preparation to host the 2020 RS:X Windsurfing World Championships in February.

David White, Sorrento’s Training Manager and Development Officer, will be on hand at the event and will be a familiar face to many of the athletes through his previous roles as Victorian and Australian National Optimist Class Coach.

“Our club is extremely excited to be hosting such a prestigious regatta,” said White.

“We take a lot of pride in the regattas we run, and whilst we put a focus on getting the basics on the water right we also like to make sure we take care of the sailors off the water.”

“We will have several dedicated athlete areas, and we expect to have over 100 dedicated volunteers on hand to make our visitors feel as welcome as possible.”

The conditions on Port Phillip are set to excite, with White giving an insight to what the sailors can expect.

“Sorrento is known in January to have lovely prevailing southerly flat breeze coming in, which is between the 15-20 knot mark on an average day.”

With racing on the water expected to be fierce, the host club will be ensuring that competitors and their families feel relaxed and well catered for when on land.

All competitors and their family members will be made honorary members of the club for the duration of the regatta, giving them full access to facilities including exclusive dining areas and showers.

“We intend for this to be a sailor-centric event,” White added. “We want to provide a great place for both competitors and supporters to enjoy this part of Australia.”

The event will feature Taco Beach, a Mexican themed food and beverage outlet outside the club providing guests with the option of a more relaxed dining experience.

Sorrento are also working to reduce the amount of plastics at the club, with extra taps having been installed and no single use water bottles to be sold.

Australian Sailing has released its selection policy for the 2020 Youth Sailing World Championships, and this event will double as one of the selection events for the Youth Worlds which will be held in Salvador, Brazil from 12-19 December 2020.

Australian Sailing would like to thank our partners at Choice Hotels for their support of the regatta, and encourage attendees to visit https://www.choicehotels.com/en-au when booking accommodation for their next trip.

Australian Sailing is encouraging all potential entrants to register today, before the late fee is applied on December 1.

Race documents and registration form can be found on the event website.