300 young sailors

Grafham prepares for several hundred young Optimist sailors over the weekend

Up to 300 young Optimist sailors will be competing at the Volvo Musto Optimist End of Season Sailing Championships, this weekend, 8-9 October 2005 at Grafham Water. The End of Season Championship marks the end of the national circuit that includes the Volvo Musto Nationals and Inland Championships.

The young sailors will be split into Senior, Junior and Regatta fleets, with six races planned for the fleet. Competition on the water is expected to be of a very high standard as this is the final selection for next years National Optimist Squad and for the final placings in the National Rankings. Ones to watch in the junior squad are brothers, James, 12 and David Grant, 11 from Restronguet Sailing Club, who finished junior National Champion and runner up respectively at the 2005 National Championships. While in the senior squad, National Champion Phil Sparks, 12 from Lymington will be looking to dominate at the front of the fleet.

"We are looking forward to some exciting racing this weekend," said David Adam, Chairman of the Optimist Association in the UK. "The calibre of racing on the water is going to be extremely high, especially amongst the sailors who are looking for National team selection."

"Volvo are proud to be the sponsor of the Optimist Class, as we feel the importance of supporting the grass roots of sailing," said Sarah Rees, Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Manager at Volvo Car UK. "It's really exciting to see so many young sailors out on the water, and I'm sure that some of them will go onto much greater success in the future."

"Musto is delighted to be on board with the Optimists," said Nigel Musto, Deputy Managing Director of Musto Ltd and an Optimist National Champion himself in 1977. "At Musto we support some of the World's top sailors and crews, but it's also great to support the future stars of our sport."

This is the fifth year that Volvo and Musto have sponsored the Optimist class, and the sponsorship also includes the National, Inland and End of Season Championships as well as the GB Optimist World and European Championship teams, Volvo and Musto have recently announced the continuation of sponsorship of the Optimist Class for 2006 and 2007.