There may have been ice on the lakes all winter but the Manitoba Sailing Team was active with dry land training offered 3 times a week. This was a great way for the sailors to stay in shape and stay in touch. A super seminar was held on a spring Sunday where the sailors had the opportunity to hear about Weather Patterns and Weather Systems with John Sauder (CKY weather specialist). The rest of the day was spent reviewing Rules, Protest Hearing Preparation & Appeals with Head Coach Brigitte Smutny and Coach Craig Baker, complete with a mock protest. It was a long, but informative day and was capped off with a team dinner.
Once the ice is off Lake Winnipeg spring training started at Gimli on weekends and Wednesday evenings. The season started on June 24-25th at Falcon Lake and then Royal Lake of the Woods (RLWYC) hosted the Centennial Cup July 1st and 2nd . A training camp followed by a regatta July 12-16 at Zig Zag on Clearwater Bay. These regattas are open to all types of sailboats but have a separate racing course for optis.
Exclusively for Opti sailors is BOOT camp, (Basic Olympic Optimist Training) held at RLWYC July 19-23rd. BOOT camp offers excellent training for the new racer with a green fleet that is specially designed for the beginner, as well as high-level training for the experienced sailors The weekend regatta determined the provincial champions in 3 age categories-10 and under, 11-13 and 14-15 year olds. There was a racing camp followed by a weekend regatta at Victoria Beach Yacht Club July 26-30th.
All the sailing events in August are out of province and great fun for those opti sailors who have the love of competition. These regattas give them a chance to race against other high level sailors in Canada. Sail West is in Calgary Aug 5-6th, CORK Optimist is in Kingston Aug 14-16th and the Opti Canadians are being hosted by the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club August 18-22nd. Prior to the Canadians there is an advanced racing clinic August 14-17th with a top notch international coach “Bocha” Pollitzer from Argentina. Check out the website for more information Last Mountain Lake in Saskatchewan is hosting the CYA 16 & under West regatta Aug 24-27th, there is 2 days of training and a 2 day regatta.
The Prairie Opti Grand Prix is based on results and participation in the various opti regattas held throughout the summer, last years winner is Van Bailey who qualified for the World’s at last years Opti Canadians in Halifax.
There are mobile opti schools throughout the summer, within Winnipeg at Ft.Whyte Centre, at numerous yacht clubs in southern Manitoba and in northern Manitoba too. There are 10 boats that travel with an instructor where young sailors are introduced to sailing, gain experience and their opti levels without having to own their own boat. It is through the mobile opti school that most of the Manitoba Sailing Team got there start.