After a year of highly competitive state youth championships around the land, Australian Sailing’s flagship youth event will be heading south to Hobart when the 2019 Australian Youth Championships presented by Australian Maritime College to commences on Thursday the 10th of January at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
This is the first time in recent years that Tasmania has hosted an Australian Sailing Youth event, and for laser radial sailor Max Gluskie it presents a rare opportunity to compete on the national stag in his home state.
“We’ve had to trip away for the past four years and I think it’s going to be special having it at home.” Gluskie said.
“Its two hours up the road from home.” Gluskie continued.
Gluskie is no stranger to tough competition. He has spent most of the year travelling around Australia, so he knows what competition can expect to face come January. Max was a part of a record number of competitors at the NSW Youth Championships in the laser radial fleet, which was made of up a national fleet providing a good taste of what’s to come for the Nationals in Hobart.
“We have limited facilities in Hobart, so we’ve had coaches come down from Melbourne to help out and we’ve been training here as a team. The competition has been great throughout the year which sets us up for the Nationals at home.” Said Gluskie.
Last year’s Youth Nationals held in Queensland attracted over 35 laser radials, where Max placed eighth. But with a year’s worth of competing and training under his belt Gluskie is looking to improve on that performance on home water.
Following on from the success of the record numbers at the NSW Youth Championships, it is expected that the National Championships will do the same and provide some extremely strong competition. On top of the best Australian youth sailors, it is expected that there will be a large global contingent making their way to Tasmania to start the year.
In addition, the 2019 Australian and Oceania laser championship will be held in Tasmania. Being a 100 point world sailing event a week prior to the Youth Nationals it will see an larger than usual fleet of lasers across classes.
Like with many major events the logistics of getting out racing can be complicated, so Australian Sailing is encouraging competitors to book as early as possible. For all your accommodation needs Concierge Travel are here to help. For more information and accommodation options click HERE
The 2019 Australian Sailing Youth Championships presented by the Australian Maritime College is proudly supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania.
Entries are now open and may be submitted here.
View the Notice of Race here
Australian Youth Championship Website – Click here
