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Omani sailors celebrated a series of strong performances at the Mussanah Race Week international dinghy regatta, sealing their success in the concluding races on Wednesday. In a competitive fleet which featured 172 of the best emerging international youth sailors, Omani racers – many part of Oman Sail’s Omantel Youth Programme – won two of the regatta’s five categories, and earned podium places in two more.

Hussain Al Jabri took three race wins on his way to a clear victory in the 27-strong Laser Radial fleet, finishing eight points ahead of Germany’s Roko Mohr with Bahraini sailor Daoud Abdullah a further point behind in third. Ibtisam Al Salmi was the leading female Omani sailor, taking 16th place.

There was also a Sultanate victory in the Techno Plus windsurfer class, with Mohammed Al Balushi taking a narrow two-point win ahead of Hungary’s Richard Geiger. Al Balushi’s teammate Abdullah Al Sarhi completed the podium in third place in the 13-strong fleet.

Oman’s Ali Al Sahri and Mohammed Ali Sahri had to give best in the Techno Under-15 category, finishing second and third respectively behind dominant Hungarian sailor Anna Morvai who won seven of the 11 races.

It was a second spot on the podium too for Abdulmalik Al Hinai in the Laser 4.7 fleet. He put in a solid performance to split a strong contingent from the UAE, with Saif Saeed Almansoori winning the class and Ahmed Younes Alhammadi third.

With many of Oman’s best Optimist sailors away competing in the Monaco Optimist Team Race event, the door was left open for visiting international sailors in the large and highly competitive 78-strong fleet.

German 2017 national Optimist champion Mic Mohr – brother, incidentally, of Laser Radial racer Roko – led from the start and took the class win ahead of Italy’s Alessandro Cortese and Kuzey Kumlali of Turkey. The best result for an Omani sailor was achieved by Salim Al Alawi who finished 33rd.

The success of the eighth edition of the Oman Sail organised Mussanah Race Week was welcomed by H.E. Said Hamdoon Al Harthi, GoH. He said: “What I have seen far exceeds my expectations. To bring all these young sailors from around the world and provide them a platform to learn and develop is an exemplary effort worthy of praise. It is very important that such a successful event grows even bigger and continue the journey”.

Oman Sail’s Youth Program Manager, Mohsin Al Busaidi, added: “Mussanah Race Week is designed to give young sailors a balanced mix of training with high-profile experienced coaches and racing in perfect conditions in the waters of Mussanah.

“Conditions during the four days of racing were not consistent in wind speed or currents, which posed good challenges for the sailors to try and overcome. We are happy that all the teams and sailors have enjoyed the activities.”

Mussanah Race Week attracted some 60 visiting sailors – along with coaches and parents – to the world-class Omani facility at Mussanah Sports City.

Before the three days of racing began the competitors were able to take advantage of top-level coaching sessions, some run by French racing star Sidney Gavignet, a long-time associate of the Oman Sail initiative.

The pre-race training included on-the-water activities focussed on boat speed, boat handling, starts and race tactics, while shore-based sessions covered the racing rules, race strategies, sailing fitness, nutrition, and sports psychology.

The mix of coaching and racing was applauded by visiting team leaders. UAE Team Manager Khawla Al Hamadi said: “The organization of this event is outstanding in all aspects from the accommodation, to the training sessions and the races over the last four days. We are happy to have won the Laser 4.7 title and another podium place in the class. The event was also a great platform to meet the sailors and coaches from other countries and share experiences with them.”

It was a sentiment echoed by Omilayla Suhail, manager of the Pakistan team. He added: “It was a beautiful event and all our sailors enjoyed it and everything went perfectly smooth for us. We are a relatively new team so the best part for us was the three days of coaching sessions. We are already looking forward to next year”.

Mussanah Race Week 2018 has got underway with a total of 172 of the best young international sailors in fierce competition at Mussanah Sports City. In early races several Omani sailors – many part of the Omantel Youth Programme – were demonstrating their emerging talent in the five highly competitive classes.

Mohamed Al Balushi was leading the Techno Plus fleet at the end of the second day, with Abdullah Al Sahri in third after leading the fleet in the opening day. Meanwhile, Abdulmalik Al Hinai was third in the Laser 4.7 class, hard on the heels of the two leading sailors from the UAE. In the Laser Radial, Omani sailor HUSSAIN AL JABRI is leading the fleet of 28 sailors.

The Optimist fleet – the largest class with 94 sailors entered – was led by Italian racer Alessandro Cortese after five races in two days. The leading Omani sailor in the second day stages was Salim Ali Al Alawi in 30^th place, though several of Oman’s best Optimist sailors are away racing in Monaco.

Before racing the competitors were able to take advantage of top-level coaching and workshop sessions, some of the supervised by Mohsin Al Busaidi, Oman Sail Youth Programme Manager.

“It is nice to see young sailors who are motivated and it is nice to see the mix of countries as well,” said Mohsin. “In the briefings we had sailors from several countries, and the more experienced guys were helping out the younger ones, and it was good to have been involved in that.

“I always like to share experience so it is very interesting. Oman Sail want to rekindle sailing in Oman and that is starting with the kids, they are the real light in the candle you could say.

“There are some good sailors and some beginners, and some of the best Omanis are in Monaco at the moment. The coaches are very important and they help get the right dynamic and making sure they are going in the right direction.”

The many Omani sailors will be hoping to match their strong performance in 2017 when they won four gold medals in the seven category finals.

Pre-race training included a focus on boat speed, boat handling, starts and race tactics, while shore-based sessions covered the racing rules, sail fitness, nutrition, race strategy, and sports psychology.

The eighth edition of Mussanah Race Week has attracted some 60 visiting sailors – along with coaches and parents – to the world-class Omani facility at Mussanah Sports City. Among the foreign entries are sailors from Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, the UAE, Poland, Portugal, Thailand and Turkey.

On the evening before racing started the sailors, coaches and accompanying parents, were invited to attend a themed Arabic Nights event to experience first-hand Omani hospitality and traditions.

Mussanah Sports City, meanwhile, has a growing international reputation for hosting top-line events, having held the 2013 Laser World Championship and 2015 Laser Radial World Championship.

Final preparations are underway at Mussanah Sports City as the world-class Omani facility prepares to welcome some of the best young international sailors to Mussanah Race Week 2018.

The Oman Sail organised regatta has gone from strength to strength since the first event in 2011, attracting a growing number of youthful yacht racers eager to take advantage of the idyllic January sailing conditions and the top-level coaching and training on offer.

This year’s eighth edition – which starts with coaching on January 11 and finishes with four days of racing concluding on January 17 – will see some 91 visiting sailors arriving from no fewer than 20 countries including Angola, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Thailand and Turkey. Almost one-third of the foreign sailors are female.

In addition, numerous Omani sailors – many part of the Omantel Youth Sailing Programme – will also be competing and hoping to repeat their success in 2017 when they won four gold medals in the seven category finals held.

French racing star Sidney Gavignet, a long-time associate of the Oman Sail initiative, will be running several of the workshop sessions during the week.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the many young sailors who will be joining us for what I am sure will be another exciting and rewarding Mussanah Race Week,” said Mohsin Al Busaidi, manager of the youth programme.

“The regatta is a marvellous opportunity to bring youthful sailors from around the world together in a friendly and competitive environment.

“The extensive expertise of Oman Sail in organising events like this, combined with the unrivalled facilities provided by Mussanah Sports City and the many workshop and coaching sessions laid on, make this an event that will be enjoyed and valued by all who take part,” he added.

Racing will be held in Optimist, Techno 293 and Laser Radial and 4.7 classes, with 12 races scheduled for each class. The largest single class is the Optimist category with 54 foreign sailors entered, who will provide a stern test for the many Omani competitors who will also be racing in the international dinghy.

Training will include an on-the-water focus on boat speed, boat handling, starts and race tactics, while shore-based sessions will cover rules, fitness, nutrition, race strategy, and sports psychology.

The venue for several international sailing events including the 2013 Laser World Championship and 2015 Laser Radial World Championship, Mussanah Sports City is located 85km north of Muscat and 60km from Muscat International Airport, and combines a beautiful coastal location with state-of-the-art regatta and visitor facilities.

The race is on to book a place for Oman’s increasingly popular Mussanah Race Week as registration opens for the 2018 event in January.

Now going into its eighth edition, the Oman Sail organised regatta has year-on-year since 2011 attracted a growing number of young international sailors to the world-class Mussanah Sports City venue.

The 2017 event saw fierce competition out on the water involving more than 120 youthful racers representing 20 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Peru, Singapore and Sweden. The many Omani sailors taking part distinguished themselves, taking four gold medals from the seven finals held.

With Mussanah Race Week entries limited, competition for a place at the event in 2018 looks likely to be equally hard fought.

Mussanah Race Week will be held from January 11th to 17th with classes for Optimist, Laser 4.7 and Techno 293 windsurfers.

Four days of racing will be preceded by three days of coaching and a practice race, with training camps for each of the classes provided by world-class international professional racing sailors.

The training camps on offer will include on-the-water sessions focused on boat speed, boat handling, starts and race tactics. Lectures ashore will cover race strategy, rules, fitness, nutrition and psychology.

“Following years of hosting successful sailing championships, Mussanah Sport City has become known as an ideal venue for international events, with its perfect wind conditions and world-class facilities,” said Salma Al Hashmi, Chief Marketing Officer at Oman Sail.

“Oman Sail has developed great expertise in putting on events such as Mussanah Race Week to bring young sailors from around the world annually in a competitive and friendly environment where they can learn new sailing skills and put what they have already learnt into practice,”

“We look forward to welcoming these young sailors to Oman to develop successful sailing paths and make great strides in building their future careers.”

Located 85km north of Muscat and 60km from Muscat International Airport, Mussanah Sports City combines a beautiful Batinah coast location with state-of-the-art regatta and visitor facilities. It has been the venue for several international sailing events, including the 2013 Laser World Championship and 2015 Laser Radial World Championship.

Oman Sail, in conjunction with the Millennium Resort at Mussanah Sports City, is able to offer a full Mussanah Race Week event package which covers entry fee, boat charter, airport transfers and accommodation, available to sailors, coaches and supporters. A tailor-made travel package offer by Oman Air will also be available soon.

Online registration for Mussanah Race Week is available at https://mussanahraceweek.com/registration/

The Optimist Champions League returns to Mussanah Race Week 2016 with more competitors than last year, including the defending champion, Daniel Ian Toh; number one girl in Europe, Ariadni Spanaki; and the number one girl in North America, Mia Nicolosi; as well as four of the top six Optimist sailors in the world.

In addition to the Optimist Championship, this year’s Mussanah Race Week will also feature a Laser 4.7 and Laser Radial class featuring an international fleet and a strong Omani contingent.

Mussanah Race Week will start on 17 January 2016 with an opening ceremony at Al Mussanah Sports City and racing will begin on 20 January, with a prize giving ceremony on 23 January.

The event will serve as ideal preparation for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, due to be held in Mussanah in December 2016, and give talented young sailors thee chance to experience the venue and Omani waters ahead of the event.

Oman’s best young sailors found themselves under pressure at the 2016 edition of Mussanah Race Week, organised by Oman Sail, but stepped up to the plate to confirm a strong all-round improvement against the best talents in the world. According to observers, performance levels in the Optimist class were markedly higher than in previous years with one of the favourites Lucas Vidella from Argentina sweeping to a resounding overall victory with a dominant display and Daniel Ian Toh from Singapore, last year’s Mussanah champion, in second place.

Al Moatsem Al Farsi, who won the best Under 12 prize in 2015 was Oman’s best performing Optimist sailor with a clutch of top 10 finishes from the gold fleet qualifiers and finals, to achieve 21st out of a field of 105 young sailors, many of whom were champions in their own countries and regions.

Four other Omani youngsters, including girls champion Samiha Al Riyami, were happy to finish in the top half of the fleet while another 23 sailors, drawn from Oman Sail’s sailing schools around the Sultanate and sampling international competition for the first time, contributed to Oman’s set of promising results.

Former Optimist national champion Zakariya Al Wahabi showed his move up into the Laser 4.7 class had posed few problems when he pulled off four straight wins from 12 races to become champion, fending off challenges from a strong Finnish contingent with Marwan Al Jafri coming fifth.

There was also an Omani winner in the Laser Radial class where Hussain Al Jabri proved the most consistent performer of 18 contenders, including four representatives from the Sultanate.

“There was a very high level of racing in the Optimist class and many competitors who were competing at Mussanah Race Week for the second time said they thought it was harder in 2016,” said Oman Sail Youth Manager,  Mohsin Al Busaidi, the first Arab to sail round the world non-stop.

“It was a very worthwhile experience for the Omani kids because they were exposed to a level of competition that they might only come across at a world championships so they learned a great deal. We had wonderful conditions all week with 25 degree heat and between 8 and 15 knots of breeze so it was very successful. The Laser fleet was not as competitive as the Optimists but it was still a challenge for the Omani kids and they did well.

“Most of them had raced Optimists so it was useful for them to experience the next rung on the ladder. We were very happy with the numbers of overseas sailors and many said they would be back next year which is encouraging,” Al Busaidi added.

The Mussanah Race Week came to a final showdown under the patronage of His Excellency Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Balushi, Majlis Al Shura Representative in Mussanah. This year, Mussanah Race Week featured two additional sailing classes, the Laser Radial and Laser 4.7, for the first time since 2011, with some of the world’s best young sailors coming to enjoy ideal sailing conditions combined with some intensive coaching.