WYTDP news

20 August 2008

Fitness programme timing change

I have had a request from a few sailors to start the strength and conditioning sessions a little earlier as they have been struggling to make an 8.30 start at school. So from now on the sessions will run from 7.00AM to 8.00AM . The sailing academy will be open from 6.45AM each Monday so make sure you are there ready to start at 7.00AM sharp. We now have access to the showers at the club for after the session as well. For those of you coming over from Eastbourne it will mean catching the earlier boat. I will be at the dock to at 6.50AM to give you a lift to the academy.

Remember the fitter you are the faster you will sail, so if you aren't already one of the regulars please try and make the effort to get along to these sessions. They look like a lot of fun. You might even pick up some new skills - last week Davey taught the sailors how to box!!!

Thanks Jamie

Jamie Tout has recently moved to Christchurch . He will still have a mentoring roll for Davey in the 'Sail - Fit" programme which is great. I'd just like to say a big thanks Jamie for your input over the last few years. Your ideas have always been well received and I know the sailors have always enjoyed working with you. Good luck for life in the mainland.

Fitness test catch up

Some of you missed the last fitness test - Josh J, Tom, Jackson, Simon, Adam, Sean, Oliver, Chris S, James H, Kristin and James de L. An alternative test has been set up for Tuesday 26 August at the Defence Force gym in Aiken street . Gather in the foyer at 5.55PM for a 6.00PM start.

Upcoming competitions

We have a few events coming up on the calendar for the match racing sailors. The first of these is the Youth Match Racing National Champs to be sailed in Wellington starting next Thursday and running through to Sunday. There are quite a few sailors from the Wellington under 21 match racing squad involved in this regatta. The next week Josh Junior, Matt Steven and Chris Jones compete in the selection trials for the New Zealand team to compete in the Oceania regional finals of the ISAF Nations Cup. At the same time a large number of talent development programme sailors will be participating in the College Sport Wellington Match Racing Champs. Good luck everyone!

16 July 2008

Matt Steven picks up 2nd World Title

Following his victory at the World University Match Racing Championships Matt Steven competed in the World OK Dinghy Championships in Warnermunde Germany. Matt sailed an excellent regatta to finish in eleventh place overall including a win in one of the heats. Matt's performance in the strong fleet of 90 sailors saw him easily win the World OK Dinghy Junior World Champion title.

8 July 2008

Talent Development programme sailors win world championship

Talent Development programme sailors Josh Junior, Matthew Steven and Chris Jones competed in the World University Match Racing Championships in Gdansk Poland. They were joined by fellow Wellingtonian Carl Syman who is currently studying at Massey University in Palmerston.

The team finished the round robin phase in the top group and proceeded to the semi finals where they met USA. They comfortably won this semi final 3-0, even managing to get the USA team black flagged out of the first flight!

The other New Zealand team at the championship (from Auckland University) also won their semi, setting up an all New Zealand final. Team skipper, Josh Junior, takes up the story ...

"We were really stoked to make it through to the final and to be racing Reuben Corbett and his team from Auckland. They had beaten us earlier in the year in the CentrePort champs in Wellington. We were pleasantly surprised with how fast we were sailing on finals day. We knew if we stayed out of trouble in the pre starts that we could quite easily sail away form them with superior boat speed during the race itself, and that is exactly what happened. We won the finals 3-0 and brought the gold medals back for Wellington."

19 June 2008

First round of strength and conditioning sessions coming to an end

The last session in the first round of the strength and conditioning programme is to take place next Monday morning. Lets try and get as many people there for this last session. The next fitness test is scheduled for 23 July after which the second round of strength and conditioning sessions will get underway. The second round will focus on getting everybody fit for the beginning of the summer season. We will try and work out a time for the second round where EVERYBODY can make it along.

Planning starts for the cook off

Kath Fouhy has started planning for the "Cook Off". The squad will be split up into teams of three or four. Each team will have to come up with either a main meal or a entree and a dessert for seven people. Parents will be invited to the cook off to judge your cooking efforts. More details will be coming soon but in the meantime start thinking about possible recipes!

Fog delays hiking research

Bob Marshall was all set to come to Wellington earlier this week to continue his research into hiking. He was going to hook a GPS up to a laser and measure the difference that a range of hiking styles has on pointing and speed. Everything was set to go ... and then the fog descended!! Watch this space as we have another go at this in a month or two.

Kristin meets the Mayor

Last week Kristin de Lisle got to shake hands with the Mayor at the presentations of the Talent Development Programme certificates. A reception was held in the town hall for the six sports that were selected by Wellington City Council to receive support for their regional talent development programmes. Peter Miskimmin, CEO of SPARC was the guest speaker. He congratulated Wellington on establishing the Talent Development Programmes and suggested that what Wellington City Council was doing was setting the blueprint for other councils around the country.

Matt, Josh and Chris off to Europe

Under 21 Match Racing squad members Matt Steven, Josh Junior and Chris Jones are off to Europe . They are being joined by Carl Syman for the World University Match Racing Championships in Gdansk Poland . Matt then goes on to compete in the World OK Dinghy champs in Germany while Josh is taking in Kiel Week in Germany , the Laser Men's European Champs in Belgium and the Under 21 European Champs in France . Good luck guys!

On the water coaching programme

The coaching programme for the lasers in the build up to the European summer has now finished. Laser coaching will get underway again in August with Saturday sessions. Match Racing Squad sessions also have a break during the school holidays as the chase boat will be taken to Auckland to get its pontoons replaced.

28 May 2008

New meeting place for fitness sessions

The strength and conditioning sessions will now start from the Sailing Academy each Monday morning at 7.10AM. If you are coming across from Eastbourne on the ferry then you will be picked up from the terminal and taken to the Sailing Academy. You will be dropped back at the railway station after the session if needed. The next fitness test is not far away. We have put together a set of graphs showing the range of results in the various tests here.

Laser coaching now on Saturdays

Because it is getting dark so early we have decided to run the coaching sessions for Lasers on Saturday afternoons through to July. Meet at Worser Bay ready to go sailing at 2PM.

Starling training during winter

All starling sailors are reminded that the Winter Series gets underway this Sunday. Steve Macris is organising coaching in the afternoon. We strongly recommend that all starling sailors participate in both the racing and the coaching. You will be surprised how quickly the nationals will come around once summer starts and the more sailing you do during the winter then the better you will be prepared come summer.

20 May 2008

Outcome goals and performance foci

The interviews with sailors in the laser and starling fleets are now completed. We we have sent out a copy of everyone's goals. A copy of the planning tools for this are available here.

8 May 2008

Fleet planning sessions

We have three fleet planning sessions next week. These are on Monday May 12 and are at the following times in the sailing academy seminar rooms.

5.10 PM Starling sailors

6.20 PM Under 21 Match Racing Squad and Women's Match Racing Squad

7.30 PM Laser sailors

Each fleet planning session will last for an hour and will map out a training and competition plan from now through to your major events in the summer of 2009. It is important that you come along to have your say as to what the major training priorities will be and to hear what the key events will be. Parents are encouraged to attend the session to make sure they are tuned into what is planned and to offer ways in which they can support the programme with things such as transport, logistics, coaching support, etc. Some sailors who are in the match racing squads will need to attend two of these meetings.

Individual review and goal setting interviews

Each of the sailors in the starling and laser fleets have been allocated a time slot for an individual review and goal setting interview. During these interviews we will review progress you have made over the last season and focus on setting performance goals for the next four months and outcome goals for the coming season. Once again a parent is encouraged to sit on these interviews. We value the partnership between coach, sailor and parents and want everyone on the same page with their understanding of what is happening.

Each interview will last 30 minutes and will be facilitated by Warrick Sue from the NZ Academy of Sport. It is important that you are on time so we can keep to the schedule. Interviews will take place at the sailing academy. Time slots are as follows.

Tuesday May 13 (Lasers)

4.50 PM Jackson

5.30 PM Simon

6.10 PM Kylie

6.50 PM Josh P (after e6 sailing)

7.30 PM Chris S (after e6 sailing)

8.10 PM Tim (after e6 sailing)

Thursday May 15 (Lasers)

3.40 PM Josh J

4.20 PM Matthew S

5.00 PM Chris J

Sunday May 18 (Starlings)

10.00 AM Adam

10.40 AM Courtney

11.20 AM James de L

12.00 PM Kristin

12.40 PM James M

2.00 PM Oliver

2.40 PM Shelley

3.20 PM Stacey

4.00 PM Alice

5 May 2008

Performance nutrition seminar

This Thursday evening we have the first of our activities in the "Eat Well" programme. The seminar will take place in the ward room at Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club starting at 5.30PM and will last for one hour. A parent or parents are encouraged to come along to the seminar if possible. Kath Fouhy from the NZ Academy of Sport will be facilitating the "Eat Well" programme and is looking forward to starting her involvement with the squad. So ... the time again is ... 5.30PM - 6.30PM in the RPNYC ward room.

Here is Kath doing her thing!

Planning for next 12 months

Over the next couple of weeks we begin the "Sail Smart" programme. Warrick Sue from the NZ Academy of Sport and your coaches will be holding two sessions. The first sesion will be in fleets and will be aimed at setting up a training and competition plan for each fleet through to the end of next summer. The second session will be as individuals and will be aimed at reviewing your progress and setting some personal goals for the next 12 months, along with training goals for the next four months. More details of times and dates to follow.

Fitness programme

The strength and conditioning sessions are well underway on Monday mornings. So far there have been three sessions with the largest turn out to date this morning. I have heard from four of you that you are unable to make it at 7.10AM on Mondays and I am happy with the alternative arrangements you have put in place. There is a small group who have not made a session yet and who have not explained why. If you are in this group can you please get in touch with me so we can make sure you either make the session or have put in place an alternative. We will also review whether the timing is OK before the Performance Nutrition session this Thursday.

Winter match racing

If you want to be involved in the winter match racing programme starting Saturday 17 May then please let me know ASAP.

22 April 2008

Fitness hall of fame

We have been doing a little analysis of the fitness data we have collected over the years. We have put together a "Fitness Hall of Fame". To get your name in the hall of fame you have to set a record for the most step ups, pull ups, press ups or sit ups ... or row the longest distance ... or be the most flexible ... in your age group during one of our fitness tests. Check out the hall of fame by clicking on the picture below. You never know you might be in it!

Strength and conditioning sessions