OLYMPIAN JO ALEH JOINS THE 420 CLASS HIGH LEVEL CLINIC ON DAY 2
Locally based Olympic sailor, Jo Aleh, popped down to Takapuna Boating Club today to meet everyone and share her experiences in the 420.
Jo won the 2007 420 World Championship on the waters off Takapuna Boating Club, with her crew Olivia Powrie, in the same year that team mates Carl Evans/Peter Burling won gold in the 420 Open event, and successfully defended their 2006 title. The rest is history as both sailors continued on from the 420 to enjoy illustrious Olympic careers, with Burling also of course the successful Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup skipper and is now competing in the Volvo Ocean Race.
Jo also brought along her Olympic medals both achieved in the 470 Class - Gold London 2012 and Silver Rio 2016 - which was hugely exciting for everyone to see and touch.
With the on-water sessions wiped out on Saturday’s opening day, the focus was about getting on the water and putting skills into practice. The coaches were asked to prepare an on-water exercise, then briefed their sailors and everyone headed out onto the water.
In the mix of participants are some of New Zealand's top young sailing talent, Seb Menzies/Blake McGlashan and Cara Higinbottom/Alice Floyd who will be flying New Zealand's flag high when they arrive in Corpus Christi, USA to reprent their nation at the Youth Sailing World Championships, 14-21 July 2018. The teams are intent on scooping up every bit of knowledge that will give them an advantage on the race track in a few months' time.
45 Coaches and Sailors are at the High Level Clinic learning from one of the world's best 420 Coaches, Nikos Drougkas. Once the clinic concludes on Monday 30 April, there will be one more day of the Basic Level Clinic on 1 May 2018, before World Sailing's annual Development Symposium gets underway from 2-4 May to share and discuss training and development initiatives,
Prior to the High Level Clinic, the 420 Class ran a Basic Level Clinic to share less advanced training knowledge and skills.
The 420 Class is delivering a package of 420 Class Development Programmes in 2018, which kicked off in the Bahamas, 15-18 March 2018.
The International 420 Class Association has always been at the forefront of running development programmes and sharing sailing knowledge, skills and techniques for sailors and coaches through online platforms, such as 420 to the Max and the 420 Exercise e-Book, as well as our development clinics and initiatives around the world.