The Yachtsman 2017-2018 RPAYC Yachtsman 2016-2017 | Page 75

2 0 1 6 N AT I O N A L GIRLS’ CAMP P rior to Sail Melbourne in St Kilda there was a three day national training camp for the top 20 girls (invitation only) from Australia that currently race in Open Fleet at a regatta level. RPAYC were lucky enough to have three girls from the Club chosen, those being Bella Green, Olivia Williams and Bayley Taylor. The camp focused on the improvement of girls sailing excellence and networks with a view of improving skills and profile of the female sailors in the Optimist Open fleet, which is dominated by the boys in terms of gender balance. The three day camp consisted of theory sessions on shore, sailing sessions on the water and an opening night at a local pizza restaurant. The RPAYC girls all had a great time and made new friends with the girls from NSW, as well as, all the other states. All of the coaches were female and included past Olympic and Opti champions such as Sarah Blanck and Elise Rechichi to name a few. DAVID TAYLOR YAC H T SMA N 73