Following the Victorian Youth Championships, Australian Sailing has brought together Australia’s up and coming youth sailors for the National Youth Camp. The four-day camp, is designed to bring together Australia’s future sailors with a team of highly-experienced coaches to support the development of these young sailors as they prepare for competition and look to progress in their sport.

Australian Sailing Performance pathway, and Ken Lynch, Australian Sailing’s National Performance Pathways Manager, says “the camp helps to give the sailors access to the right opportunities, supporting their transition through the performance pathway”.

Throughout the camp there was an emphasis on squad learning and working together to get better. This work was conducted in tandem with a teambuilding element for the recently selected Australian Sailing Youth Team, comprised of sailors from around the country. With the World Sailing Youth World Championships around the corner in mid-July (at The Hague, Netherlands), our coaches believe the formation of relationships and collaboration between team members is a vital component to the group’s learning and performance.

It only takes a couple steps into the group’s shared accommodation to believe things are going pretty well in that respect. After debriefing the sailing, the common room is filled with a vibrant beat of discussion and sailors from all classes mingling and excited by the prospect of the next few days together. In the dining room, sailors animatedly exchange stories over their second and third helpings of dinner. Even since the start of the Victorian Youth Championships, the difference of conversation between states and fleets is very noticeable. These types of experiences not only support a young sailors development but they help to retain people in the sports and enjoy the experience progressing towards their goals.