The Israel Sailing Association, in collaboration with Athena, is launching an extraordinary campaign to identify the future generation of sailing in Israel.
The union invites female athletes from any discipline, amateur or professional, aged 13-16, who are 1.72 or taller, to come and test in order to try and become the next Olympic athletes.
The campaign stems from the changes in the Olympic sailing models, most notably the 470 boat, where they switched to mixed crews (men and women).
As a result of the change, there is a shortage of mixed teams in Israel and the union's goal is to train the next generation of sailing, in order to reach the Olympic Games in 2028 (Los Angeles).
The sailing industry is one of the only ones in which you can start at a relatively late age, as a team in a double boat where the helmsman is the experienced sailor who grew up in the industry.
A girl with a competitive nature and a desire to invest, can within a few years reach the top of the industry in Israel and later also abroad.
The tests will be conducted during the months of August and September, during which the initial exposure to the industry and a mutual compatibility check will be conducted.
The girls will try different sailing vessels, including a 420 boat in which they will become professional.
In the second phase, the main activity will be in the sailing clubs, where each will be assigned to a club close to her place of residence and where she will be part of the group and of all the annual training and competition activities.
At this stage, the union will continue to accompany the female athletes and they will receive reinforcement of personal training and theory lessons in order to reduce the professional gap.
As early as 2023, the new boats are supposed to enter the circuit of competitions in Israel and the hope is that within about two years they will already be able to work their way into the teams of the Israeli national team and go out to represent the country in international competitions.
After a few years, the new teams will switch to the Olympic 470 model.
Project manager Nofer Edelman: "In light of our experience over the years, it is clear to us today that in order to be successful in the industry, a minimum of height and weight is required. This is to create a torque that will balance the pressure exerted by the wind on the sails and thus produce a higher boat speed. There are not many tall women in the State of Israel and those who are , don't always make it to competitive sports. Our goal is to change the current situation, to introduce more and more women to sports and to provide them with the full support system so that they can become Israel's next Olympic medalists."
The project is led by Lenore Kliger, former world champion in the 420 model, and Olympic coach.
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