Sailing Magazine
Five young sailors will represent Western Cape Province at the 7th Qingdao International Sailing Week, which will be held in Qingdao, China from 7 to 17 August 2015. Bev Le Sueur, Chairperson of South African Sailing (SAS) in the Western Cape stated, “these youngsters were selected from over sixty eight sailors in the Western Cape and will face tough competition in China from other sailing nations around the world.”
This invitation is a result of an agreement between the Provincial Government of the Western Cape and the Shandong Province, which hosts the Qingdao Sailing Centre – the centre that trains China’s Olympic Squad. The support to the sailing community from the Provincial Department of Cultural Affairs & Sport (DCAS) has been overwhelming. Anroux Marais, the MEC responsible for sport, recreation and cultural policy in the province, together with the officials in the department pulled out this stops over this last week, to make the participation of these sailors in this prestigious international sailing competition possible.
MEC Anroux Marais expressed her well wishes to team Western Cape for the prestigious international yacht race in China. “The selected five sailors have already and will undoubtedly continue to make us proud as they represent the province internationally”, MEC Marais said.
“The allocation by MEC Marais of a special grant of R100,000 to ensure participation of the Western Cape in this important international sailing competition is warmly welcomed by South African Sailing” said Saths Moodley and “we are hoping that the MECs of Sport in the other provinces, take the lead in supporting the only sport that integrates the sexes and ethnicity.” We applaud Galactic Gear, the company that specialises in extreme sailing apparel, for kitting out Team Western Cape.
SASWC extended the invitation to all yacht clubs in the Western Cape to nominate sailors for the team. Over 68 applications were received from highly competent sailors. “Team Western Cape is representative of experience and youth”, said Bev le Sueur, SASWC chairperson.
SASWC will be represented by Saths Moodley at the Qingdao Opening Ceremony and will be negotiating future Agreements with Qingdao to include exchange programmes for other sailing classes.
About SASWC:
The Western Cape branch of South African Sailing (SAS) strives to enable sailing for life across all sailing disciplines for all South Africans. SASWC strategic goals are to: increase entry level sailing by 50%; retain our sailors by improving events; improve SAS communications; promote sailing to the public; and generate funding for sailing.
About DCAS:
The Western Cape Provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) encourages excellence and inclusivity. “We unite people through sport and culture to ensure a creative and active Western Cape. We bind our communities as a strong and unified nation and create opportunities through funding and collaboration.”
