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Why Women Program?

To support His Majesty's vision
Under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman has established itself as a leader in the development of opportunities for women. As he said:
" Release the Omani citizen's creative energies, bring out their latent potentials, develop their talents and skills and enable them to make a greater contribution."

To fulfi l the aims of the project
Oman Sail is a project established to contribute to the development of Oman and Omanis. The project offers both men and women the same sporting and career opportunities.

To develop women
The Programme will not only instill confi dence and teach valuable, transferable life skills but also create jobs and unique opportunities for women.

To develop through innovation
The creation of Oman Sail demonstrates Oman's bold and novel approach to the development of its population. The Women's Programme demonstrates this even further.

Associate Partner:

How we will do it?

First steps
Over the course of two days in July Oman Sail welcomed 70 spirited young women into its sailing centres at Mussanah and Marina Bandar Al Rowdha for the Women's Programme Open Days.
During the day the participants took to the water for the first time, whilst on land a series of educational games tested their problem solving abilities and teamwork. The ladies rose to the challenges with energy and determination.



Basic training & assessment
From the 70 ladies, 40 were selected to proceed to phase one of the training - a three week assessment course held in September. This course was specifically designed to develop the women's basic sailing skills while carefully assessing their potential.

Professional sailing course
Those who made it through phase one started their professional sail training immediately. This six month course will equip them with the comprehensive sailing skills required to qualify as sailing instructors and to become the latest additions to the race team.

Where do they go next?
Between now and February 2012 we will select a squad of female sailors who will take part in the challenging offshore sailing event, Sailing Arabia – the Tour. These ladies will have to show outstanding commitment to their sail training to qualify for a place in the crew.

In March 2012 we will populate our three operational sailing centres with teams of qualified female instructors. These women are the bedrock of professional female sailing in Oman who will help Oman's future sailing stars take their own first steps in the sport

Mentors

Shirley Robertson

Shirley Robertson OBE made history when she became the first British woman to win gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games, at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Born July 15, 1968 in Dundee, Shirley started sailing at the age of seven in a Mirror dinghy, which her father built himself in their garage. A determined child with the belief that with hard work you can achieve anything, Shirley quickly caught the sailing bug, and her quest for an Olympic medal started after she graduated from University in 1990. By the late 1990s Shirley had won silver medals at the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Europe Class World Championships. She competed in her first Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 and continued her pursuit of an Olympic medal in 1996 at the Atlanta Games. In 2000 Shirley proved beyond doubt that she had mastered her class by winning her first Olympic gold at the Olympic Games in Sydney.

Samantha Davies

Sam first entered the spotlight during her single-handed circumnavigation of the world in the 2009 Vendée Globe, one of the world's most challenging offshore competitions. Not only did she come fourth but she also became famous for her humour, unbreakable spirit and profound love of sailing in the face of this pitiless solo regatta. Sam was born in Portsmouth in 1974 to avid sailing parents and was able to sail before she could walk. At a young age she could manoeuvre (and cook!) in Force 8 winds and dreamt of ocean sailing. After achieving her Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cambridge her dream became reality, when she won a place in an all woman crew to attempt the Jules Verne record. Sam has never looked back and has since completed numerous ocean crossings, securing her reputation as an exemplary sailor.