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AON Youth Clinic

AON National Youth Clinic at Manly

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A four-day live-in AON National Youth Clinic saw 50 sailors from across New Zealand came together at Manly Sailing Club during December. YNZ Youth and Events Manager Sam Mackay shares some thoughts below from the week: 

It was the first time in several years that we have done a live in national camp and provided a fantastic opportunity for everyone to immerse themselves in sailing for the four days. It was great for the coaching team to have the extra time to spend with sailors, getting to know them better, and being able to go in depth on key performance topics. 

AON clinic

We had presentations through the week from Kelsey Patterson the nutritionist that supports sailors at HPSNZ, Tom Saunders and Mike Bullot on starting, Geoff Woolley on Olympic campaiging and Paul Snow Hansen on accurate speed testing. We had a really amazing group of coaches helping the sailors – mentioned above alongside Josh Armit, Jenny Armstrong and Markus Sommerville. 

AON Clinic Manly

We also did fitness sessions each morning. A circuit with Erica Dawson one morning and then a run and swim in the Shakespeare regional park the next one. 

AON clinic

The weather was amazing (probably the best week so far this summer) and we were able to get a lot of quality time on the water. The sailors worked on starting and boat speed each day with a race day on the final day. The 29ers had a pretty awesome day focussing on improving speed as they sailed around Tiritiri Matangi Island.  One unique experience for the sailors was the hundreds of hammerhead sharks sharing the bay with us throughout the four days. 

AON clinic

Overall the camp was a big success, something we will schedule again this year and we hope will become a marquee event in the youth sailing calendar going forward. 

AON National Youth Clinics are focused on supporting the best young New Zealand sailors striving for international success at youth level and beyond. 

There are more AON Youth Clinics being held in 2023. Find out more.