National Calendar of Events

Good evening everyone,

I just wanted to give you some feedback on the current discussions and where we are at with finalising the Optimist Class National championships.

Summary of the discussion was whether or not to plan a class nationals. It was decided to go ahead.

The second item was when would be a good time. Proposed dates 4th – 10th January or later. The irregularity around school starting times  highlighted that sooner would be better than later.

The third was the venue. There is always the debate as to where. A venue that suits the novices may not deliver the event the Selection event needs and if we do commit to a novice friendly venue will we have the novice participation to justify it.

ZVYC have offered to host the event in the WC again for a second year. The Optimist class follows a rotation plan so that the cost and travel is not burdened on parents of only one region. So having a class nationals in WC for two consecutive years would not be possible.

The outcome of this discussion was that the parents that are already committed to the selection process would rather  have a quality event with adequate racing time and good conditions if they are going to do the spend and forfeit a larger number of participants that aren’t guaranteed.

So I have engaged with Zululand Yacht Club in Richards Bay to host the Optimist Class Nationals from the 4th -10th of January.

Feedback from the club is they would host our event at that time but they are awaiting authorisation from the Port Authority to go ahead.

The Class and the club are trying to get this finalised a soon as physically possible giving the parents sufficient time to arrange the necessary to attend.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or questions.

Regards

Shellee

18 August 2020

Dear Optimist Parents,

SA Sailing has asked the Committee to engage with our membership and get some insight into what the class suggests for the Class National Championships.

• Would you be in support of the Class Nationals remaining as part of the Youth National Championships format? YES/ NO
• Would you support a stand alone Class National Championships at another time and Venue? YES / NO
• Is December a good time of the year for your family to attend the Nationals? YES/NO
• Please suggest 3 possible dates for the competition.
• Please suggest the next venue keeping in mind the event would need to rotate.

Please Reply to this mail when you’ve had time to look at  the options and discussed it with your sailors. I’m looking forward to your responses.

Regards

Shellee

083 626 7597

optimistclasssa@gmail.com