Oman's young sailors are reaping the benefits of a week's tough competition after pitting their wits against an international field at the Al Bareh International Regatta in Bahrain. Six of the youngest members of Oman Sail’s Omantel Youth Programme, co-sponsored by Oman Shipping Company, were selected to represent the Sultanate in the Optimist class to give them a taste of large scale regattas and different conditions, under the guidance of their coach Sultan Al Zadjali, a race club coach at the Mussanah Sports Complex.
The Al Bareh Regatta took place from June 19-23 and more than 90 international sailors competed. The Omani youth team emerged with flying colours, especially in the final days when they were confronted with blustery 23 knots of breeze and choppy seas that few had ever experienced before.
"It was windier than they expected and initially they were apprehensive but they went out there and fought all the way to the finish. They never gave up and that was good to see,” said Al Zadjali. “Al Bareh International Regatta is an excellent race to drive the best performance out of the young sailors. The team consisted of two sailors who participated in the last year's edition along with four new ones who had joined to exchange technical know-how and the handling of the Optimists.
"We were aiming to lay some strong foundations for the kids, which they will benefit from in the long-run so our focus was on setting performance goals rather than actual race results and getting them to understand the importance of both physical and personal training.
“This approach is in line with Oman Sail's existing Performance Pathway which operates as a qualification mechanism to build up stronger future athletes."
The week in Bahrain came immediately after participating in a week-long Youth Squad Training Camp at the Oman Sail sailing school in Sur with their coach. As soon as the regatta was over, the team flew back to Oman to take part in the Rankings Race in Mussanah where sailors from Oman Sail’s different sailing centres are competing from June 24-26.
This hectic schedule was compiled as part of a careful and considered programme aimed at nurturing both their sporting and personal skills and establishing a solid foundation from which they develop those abilities for long term benefit.
“It was tiring but it was a good test of character and they all came through it well, in fact they were even more enthusiastic at the end than at the start and we saw clear improvements in their performances,” said Al Zadjali who as main mentor and coach also received plaudits for his encouragement and support of the youngsters despite Al Bareh being his first international regatta.
The results of the Al Bareh Regatta were:
Salim Al Alawi – 16th place
Zakariya Al Wahaibi – 18th place
Saud Al Abri – 26th and 6th in the junior
Ghasan Al Hosaini – 29th and 7th in the junior
Mohammed Al Qasmi – 30th and 8th in the junior
Samiha Al Riyami: 40th and 8th in the girls
