Oman Wires It's all about Oman
The two-day regatta held in perfect sailing circumstances resulted from a new partnership in between Oman Sail and the Ministry of Education following sailing was authorized as an extracurricular activity for government students. Sailing joined swimming, badminton, chess and track and field as 1 of the sports integrated in the wider 4-day School Olympic Days occasion.
Rashid al Kindi, Oman Sail’s National Sailing team manager, stated, “This new event for us has been a great success and has opened up sailing to a whole new range of students. The conditions were ideal and off the water all the sailors were able to mix with many other athletes taking part in the other events.”
Organised by the Oman Schools Sports Association, the Omantel-supported youth sailors raced in Optimist and Laser four.7 classes, with the 4 Oman Sail sailing schools taking element representing 3 of Oman’s governorates.
Al Mouj Muscat, representing the Governorate of Muscat, emerged as the best sailing college with wins in each classes. Mohammed al Qasmi won the general Optimist class, and Abdulmalik al Hanai, Adnan al Mabsali and Hassan al Owaisi created it a clean sweep of the Laser podium. Al Mouj’s Aya al Habsi was also the best female Optimist sailor at the occasion.
The Governorate of Muscat was also represented by Marina Bandar al Rowdha sailing college, whose sailors also earned recognition. Jihad al Mashari was the youngest sailor at the occasion, and Abdul Aziz al Hasani the very best newcomer to a ranking occasion.
Mussanah Sailing School, representing the Governorate of South Batinah, saw Abdullah al Balushi named the very best Junior Optimist sailor, whilst Al’Maotasem al Farsi took second location in the 52-boat Optimist fleet.
The third spot on the Optimist podium was taken by Saleem al Alawi from Sur Sailing School, who have been sailing on behalf of the Governorate of South Sharqiyah.
All the sailors taking element in the regatta joined the several young athletes from the other School Olympic Days sports at the closing ceremony and prize-providing held at the Sultan Qaboos Sport Complex. The guest of honour at the vibrant occasion was Dr Dhafir Awadh al Shanfari, chief executive officer of the Omani Authority for Partnership for Development.
“Oman Sail’s involvement has brought great benefits to the School Olympic Days curriculum and has opened the door to many students to take part in the sport of sailing, with all the lifelong skills that can offer, including discipline, responsibility, leadership and teamwork,” stated Ahmed bin Darwish al Balushi, basic secretary, Oman Sport School Association.
He stated, “We are delighted and proud to see our young talents engage in a healthy physical activity that is deep-rooted in the country. We congratulate those who have excelled and shown great potential of becoming successful athletes.”
The two-day sailing occasion was preceded by a 3-day coaching camp, which also helped the young Oman Sail sailors prepare for forthcoming international regattas, and saw expert coaching from Didier Charvet and Marco L Superina in the Optimist and Laser fleets, respectively.
Information Source: Muscat Daily
