Top sailors to take part in 10th edition of Mussanah Race Week

Sports Wednesday 19/February/2020 16:03 PM
By: Times News Service
Top sailors to take part in 10th edition of Mussanah Race Week

Muscat: Mussanah Race Week, the region’s popular youth sailing event, gets underway in Oman later this month with exciting added extras helping to mark its 10th anniversary edition.
The popular regatta will be boosted this year with the 2020 Techno Asian Championships and the GCC Sailing Championship, attracting best international and GCC sailors and windsurfers to Mussanah Sports City venue between February 24 and March 1.
The week offers three days of world class coaching followed by four days of international standard racing. On-the-water training sessions will focus on boat speed and handling, and race starts and tactics.
Lectures ashore will cover race strategy, rules, fitness, nutrition and sports psychology. The event is also open to non-competitors aiming to fast-track their skills in a friendly setting.
Set to take advantage of Oman’s fantastic warm weather sailing conditions is Thailand’s Optimist champion Weka Bhanubandh, who took second place at the 2019 IODA Asian and Oceanian Championship which was held in Oman last October.
Windsurfers attending will compete for gold in the U15, U17 and TPlus categories.
Jointly organised by the Oman Maritime Sports Committee under the umbrella of GCC Sailing and Rowing Organisation Committee, the annual GCC Sailing Championship is expected to attract the best sailors from the region to compete in ideal conditions in Mussanah.
“Mussanah Race Week has become a popular must-do event over the past decade, attracting an increasing number of young sailors from Oman, the Gulf and Middle East regions, and from around the world,” said Rashid Al Kindi, Director of Sailing at Oman Sail, organisers of Mussanah Race Week.
“This year’s 10th edition regatta will again deliver the expert coaching and well managed competitive racing that is part and parcel of the Mussanah Race Week experience, while Mussanah Sports City and its world class facilities will provide a welcoming and friendly environment.
“The opportunity to also host the 2020 Techno Asian Championships, as well as the chance to showcase the Starboard iFoil which will feature at the Paris Olympics in 2024, means that this year’s event will be particularly memorable,” added Al Kindi.
An additional Olympic twist will see Mussanah Race Week feature a special showcase for the Starboard iFoil – which is the official designated windsurfer for the 2024 Paris Games – with demonstration and training sessions led by the star Argentinian coach Gonzalo Costa Hoevel, the 2018 Professional Windsurfers Association’s (PWA) Foil World Champion.