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03.04.11

600 local kids learn how to sail in one Week!

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Saturday 26th – Wednesday 30th March, Oman Sail organized the Try Sailing Week, an event that taught a staggering 600 kids to sail in one week! The event has been held at the busy Sailing School, Marina Bandar Rowdha and the new Sailing School facility in Mussanah.

The Try Sailing days are a vital part in Oman Sail’s plan to reach out to local youths and offer them the chance to get on the water and learn to sail. One of Oman Sail’s key Commercial partners, Renaissance Services, is sponsoring 300 students to Try Sailing at the Sailing school, Marina Bandar Al Rowdha.

Since 2009 Renaissance has been a vital sponsor of Oman Sail and has continued to support the national project through the training of Omani sailors and sponsoring the national team to participate in world-class events. Some of these events include sponsorship of the Omani team at the Extreme Sailing Series back in 2009, Tour de France a la voile in 2010 and Sailing Arabia – The Tour early this year. Today, Renaissance continues its commitment of sponsoring Ty Sailing Sessions in recognition of their importance in the community, and the role they play in the development of local children.

A spokesman for Renaissance said, “These community Try Sailing programmes do wonders to boost a young student’s confidence. The education here is not only safe and entertaining, but more importantly, students grow increasingly confident as they apply the lessons of how to sail a boat. Sailing is symbolic of the tremendous possibilities in life and the skills needed to succeed. The sea has inspired poets, dreamers and leaders for centuries. To be able to see these experienced Omani sailors instructing the youth of Oman in their own language is very meaningful.”

The support from commercial partners for this grass roots sailing programme is welcomed by teachers and parents alike:
Adel Al Abri, Community Sailing Program manager said “We would like to thank Renaissance and the excellent Oman Sail instructors who together have made this such a memorable event for our children and provided them the chance to get in a boat and actually learn to sail it themselves!. They will talk about their experiences at the Try Sailing Week for a long time to come, and we hope that many of them will go on to make sailing part of their lives – thank you.”

150 female students from Al Zahra School and another 150 male students from Rashid bin Nadhar will be taking part in the Try Sailing Week at the Sailing School, Marina Bandar. Some of the children chatted to Oman Sail about their experiences on and off the water.

Four students from Rashid bin Nadhar School spoke about their experience on the water,
Mohamed al Sulaimi, 12 years old:” This is my second time on the water and it was great fun. I love the water, the sun.” and when asked why he was wearing two caps: “ its too sunny!” he nodded with a smile.

Nawras al Bulushi, 12 years old: “We had a race among us and we got the second place, thanks to our instructor Mohamed Al Wahaibi, he is my favorite! I will defiantly come again to win the first”

12 years old, Osama Al Balushi and Ali Al Hasni also had a wonderful experience sailing: “We really enjoyed and had lots of fun especially that we were competing against the others and came the second, we love the sea and hope to go sailing in the nearest future.

We have learned a lot from the instructors especially Abdulaziz Al Shidi and Khalfan Al Athobi. They have taught us a lot about sailing such as how to tie a knot and trim the sails. We thank all our instructors for giving us this lovely opportunity”

Parents and teachers see increased confidence in their children who have participated in the Try Sailing sessions. Sailing is a social sport that requires a combination of both mental and physical skill – it is not just about physical strength and therefore can be enjoyed by all children. These new skills and experiences learnt at a Try Sailing event are easily transferable into working life – skills such as teamwork, leadership and the ability to communicate in a fast paced environment will be of great benefit to the young Omani community.