The general committee of the Optimist World Championship 2017 led by Thomas Whitcraft and Adm. Kraisorn Chansuvanich organized a press conference recently at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok to help publicize the 11-21 July international sailing event.
Organized by the Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC), the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) in conjunction with the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) with strong support from the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), the event is set to provide an inspiration for young Thais to take up sailing and stimulate the development of Optimist sailing in Thailand to international standards.
The Optimist Dinghy has proven to be the ideal boat for introducing young children to the sport of sailing. The object of the class is to provide an affordable racing boat for young people. Optimist Dinghy sailing typically starts at the age of 7 or 8 and continues to 15 years of age. More than 85% of all sailors who participated in the Rio Olympics sailed in Optimist Dinghies when they were young.
Thomas Whitcraft, President of the Optimist World Championship 2017 Thailand, commented at the press conference: “The Royal Varuna Yacht Club is proud to have been chosen as the host venue for this prestigious sailing championship. This is the 2nd time that Thailand has won the honor of hosting this world-class event. We held our first Optimist World Championship here at RVYC back in 1979 and it is great that the club has been selected once again.”
The Optimist World Championships will be held at Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya over 12 days. Over 59 countries have already confirmed to compete in the event, and each country will send their most talented Optimist sailors to race as national representatives on the world stage.
For more information, go to website: www.2017worlds.optiworld.org.
