The first Youth America’s Cup will be held in 2013. Sailors from different classes of high performance sailing have joint together to win the Cup on an AC45.
Youth America’s Cup
The America’s Cup is the oldest sport trophy in the international sport and is the most prestigious in sailing. The trophy started with a race between Great Britain and the United States of America 160 years ago. Once in every three or four years the race is organised. The last one was held begin 2010 and the 34th edition will take place from 4 till 7 September 2013 in San Francisco. Between both events, there will be a runner- up series organised for the first time with the so-called AC45, a revolutionary 45 ft long catamaran with a wing sail. These spectacular boats are asking the crew to be mentally and physically at their best. A fantastic initiative from the America’s Cup organisation is that they make the AC45 available for the first Youth America’s Cup September 2013. This event will be prior to the 34th edition of the America’s Cup.
First Dutch Team
For the first time in history there is a Dutch team that will take part in this edition of the America’s Cup. Special about this team is that it has collaboration between athletes from different disciplines in sailing. In Holland there is a lot of talent in High Performance sailing and especially catamaran sailing.
Even in the biggest international two-person catamaran class, the Formula 18, the Dutchies are dominating the fleet. At the past F18 Worlds there were four boats in the top five with Dutch influences. The Youth America’s Cup team is composite of all the best Dutch talents, who are the future for High Performance sailing in the Olympic classes. The team has now 9 men and 1 woman, an unique combination and a very good team, who can call themselves favourites for winning the Cup. Experts such as Carolijn Brouwer, Pim Nieuwenhuis and physical supervisors support the team.
Goal
‘There’s no second place’. The team has only one goal and that is winning the Cup no matter what. Every team member is fighting in his/ her own class as well to get the highest possible. This is how they know what motivation and determination for a project really means.
First selection
To compete in the Youth America’s Cup you have to get through the selections. The selections will be held on 40 ft catamarans, which look a lot like the AC45 catamaran. The team has access to a 40ft cat to train in St Tropez, where they just did their first training camp. In the upcoming months, the team will train a few more times in other countries in preparation for the qualifying event in February in Asia.
For more information about the team and their campaign, go to www.flyingdutchies.com or like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Flyingdutchies
See the team in action at http://youtu.be/C9Rj72ULmvE
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