76 competitors from 30 countries completed 10 races, sailed over four days, in a huge variety of wind and weather conditions. Peter Batho of Hungary won the Men's Division of the Byte CII European Championship and Sara Natasza Piasecka of Poland won the Women's Championship. The European Championship, also the Qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games, was sailed as part of the Imperia Winter Regatta with the Yacht Club Imperia hosting the 76 boat Byte fleet.

14 places were open to European qualifiers - 7 in the male division and 7 in the female. Of these 14 places, 13 were taken by different countries! Only the Finns qualified their country in both the men's
and women's disciplines.

For more on the Qualifier go to the Byte Championship Website at www.bytechamps.org

Left to right back: Nathan Tang SIN, Darren Choy SIN, Terrence Choo SIN, Keerati Bualong THA, Chai Xun SIN,
Natthawut Peanyaem THA. Front: Kamolwan Chanyim THA, Ho Ruth Airiel SIN, Natasha Michiko Yokoyama SIN

These were the top six male and top three female finishers in the Championship. Of the top six male finishers,
two of them - Keerati Bualong (1st) and Natthawut Peanyaem (5th), both of Thailand, were too old to qualify for the Games. Of the top three female finishers, Kamolwan Chanyim of Thailand (2nd female and 16th overall) was also overage. In both cases, their compatriots successfully qualified their country.

With Singapore already seeded into the Games as the host country, three spots were open to the
top three different countries in both the boy's and girl's divisions of the Championship providing
that the competitor would not have turned 17 in 2010. The same three countries claimed both the
boy's and the girl's places, shown below in their order of finish. Their actual finishes can be found
in the results. See link below.

Boys
Thailand   Sailed by Supakorn Pongwichean
Malaysia   Sailed by Muhamad Amirul Shafiq Bin MD Jais
China       Sailed by Wang Zili

Girls
China       Sailed by Gu Min
Malaysia   Sailed by Khairunneeta Binti Mohd Afendy
Thailand   Sailed by Jittiwa Thanawitwilat
 
For full coverage and the results go to www.bytechamps.org  / CII Asian Championship and YOG Qualifier

Royal Varuna Yacht Club, Thailand's premier international Sailing Club
Nov 23 - 29, 2009
Byte CII 2009 Asian Championships & Asian Qualifier for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games

November 25, 2009

 

50 Asian sailors from Thailand, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia are in Pattaya to select the Asian male and female entries to the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August 2010.

 

Above, sailors on the lawn of the Royal Varuna YC get ready for the Practice Race. Thai and Singapore sailors dominated the race with 2007 World CII Champion, Keerati Bualong of Thailand, winning this warm up. Keerati also won the 2008 Asia-Pacific CII Championship, sailed in Pattaya, but will have his hands full with Darren Choy of Singapore, the current CII World Champion from the Kingston Ontario event. 

Train in the CII at the site of the North American and Caribbean YOG Qualifying Event:  The North American and Caribbean Qualifying Event will be held in the Cayman Islands from March 10-15, 2010. We will offer a pre-regatta CII clinic in the Cayman Islands from November 12-15. The clinic will run by Canadian Olympic coach, Rob Fox. Cost is $800 per person.  Includes charter boat (hull, mast, and boom) and four days of coaching. Limited number of boats available.

Registration deadline is October 15, 2010. To register please contact Mike Weber sailing@sailing.ky

Leading up to the Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers, Nautivela has announced a list of the training camps taking place in Italy and France in the next 2 months:

9 - 11 October 2009: Torbole (Lake Garda)
25 - 29 October 2009: Cannes (site of the World Champ & Open YOG Qualifier 2010)
23 Oct - 1 Nov. Nord Garda – Riva/Arco/Torbole TO BE CONFIRMED
6 - 8 November 2009: Torbole (Lake Garda)
20-22 November 2009: Imperia (site of the European Championship and YOG Qualifier, 2009)

Although the CII is being used in the YOG - a young sailor's event - MNA's and competitors should realize that the the rig is much more sophisticated, and technical, than the Radial or 4.7 rig with which most are familiar. However there is very little in the experience of a sailor in one of those boats that will prepare them to sail the CII effectively and time, and practice, is needed in the boat to understand the CII rig.

Charter boats are available from Nautivela, not only for the YOG Qualifiers but also for some of the training camps listed above.

For more information, please contact Alberto Portiglia nautivela@nautivela.com