Oman Sail Winter Cup reveals new generation of future champions
MUSCAT: The Oman Sail Winter Cup, held over four days from February 11-14 at Barcelo Musannah Resort, put 50 of the best young sailors from across Oman Sail's three sailing schools to the test in Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes. Prizes were awarded for the top three in each category, with the best performing sailors in line to represent the nation in upcoming regattas.
Khamis al Mashaikhi won four out of five races to seal victory in the Optimist event ahead of Hood bin Saad al Nofli, who picked up a victory and three second placed finishes. Mohammed bin Ziyad al Qasimi finished third after finishing on the podium three times during the competition.
All three sailors continued their fine form on the water after excellent performances at the recent Admiral's Cup in Pattaya, Thailand.
Mohammed bin Ziyad al Qasimi also finished as the top Junior, leading Khaled bin Yahya al Sarihi – fourth overall – and Mohammed bin Suleiman al Balushi, who also finished sixth overall.
The highest ranked female sailor was Tarteel bint Zaid al Hasaniyah, fifth overall and a strong performer throughout. Hadeel bint Yousuf al Mushaifriyah finished second in the Optimist Girls competition and 13th overall, and Abeer bint Kalil al Zakwaniyah finished third – 19th overall.
The top three in the ILCA 4 category were separated by just four points after each notching a win in the opening three races. Hassan bin Nasser al Wahaibi finished first, just a single point ahead of Tamim bin Sulaiman al Balushi. Saoud bin Talib al Shaqsi finished third.
A participant during the Optimist races.
Al Motasem bin Hamoud al Farsi swept to victory in the ILCA 6 competition with four consecutive wins to secure the win with one race to spare. Alsalim bin Ali al Hamdani finished second four times to secure second place, just four points behind the winner. Hatem bin Mohsen al Araimi ended the event in third after two podium finishes and victory in the final race.
In the ILCA 7 category, Hussain bin Said al Jabri won all five races to win the event ahead of Ali bin Hussein al Saadi, himself finishing second in all five races. In addition, Mussanah Sailing School earned the Best Sailing School competition award following the impressive performances of their young sailors across all events.
Hashim al Rashdi, Oman Sail's Head Coach of Performance, said: 'We are very pleased with the outcomes of the Winter Cup and the level of performance from all sailors. The skills shown by the highest performing sailors are a result of their dedication in training camps and commitment to becoming accomplished sailors. We have a busy season ahead and our squad will now start working towards building on these results so that we can proudly represent the nation and continue developing our young sailors.'
The sailors will now begin preparations for the GCC Beach Games, to be held in Muscat from April 5-11, and the 2025 Optimist World Championships in Slovenia in July. This will be followed by the Oman Sailing Championship in Sur in August, the Suleymanpasa Cup in Türkiye in September and 14th edition of Musannah Race Week in October.
Oman Sail will then welcome sailors from Asia and Oceania for the 2025 IODA Optimist Asian & Oceanian Championship from October 25 - November 1. The year wraps up with the Arab Sailing Championship in November, scheduled to be held in Algeria.
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