If you are sailing in Open fleet at the 2020 Musto OptiAUS Championship, and might qualifiy for a team, please read the attached document, and complete an Event Selection Form. You can return it to Emma Short at the Regatta Office at the AUS Champs by 5pm Wednesday 8th January 2020.
This year the Australian International Optimist Dinghy Association (AIODA) has revised its selection protocol for the Australian Optimist Sailing Team (AOST) and the Development Squads.
The selection protocol has been refined to make it more concise, provide for a greater number of positions for sailors to compete in Development Squads and to provide greater clarity on eligibility for selection to the AOST and Development Squads. A summary of some of the fundamental changes are as follows.
In order to fast track the selection of sailors for the AOST and Development Squad regattas, open fleet sailors will be required to complete an AIODA Event Selection Form. The form requires that the sailor list in order of preference their preferred international regattas in the event that they are selected for one of the positions, based on their performance at the 2020 Australian Optimist Championship (Open Fleet). Sailors will have until 5 pm on 8 January 2020 to submit their AIODA Event Selection Form. AIODA will provide further details at the Australian Optimist Championship.
This year the Development Squads, comprising the Australian Optimist Girls Squad, the Australian Optimist Senior Development Squad and the Australian Optimist Development Squad, have been expanded from 6 to 12 sailors in each squad. The Development Squads will each be accompanied by two coaches, thereby also offering not just greater opportunities for developing sailors but also optimist coaches in Australia.
Selection for the Development Squads is limited to those sailors who are eligible for and commit to competing at the 2021 Australian Optimist Championships. This change was implemented to ensure that the focus of Development Squads is to develop sailors towards the AOST and for the development of the optimist class more generally.
A sailor will not be offered a position in the Australian Optimist Senior Development Squad if they are 12 years old and under at the time of qualification, unless they have previously been selected for and participated in the Australian Optimist Development Squad. Sailors who are 12 years old and under at the time of qualification will be required to participate in the Australian Optimist Development Squad first.
This year, the selection protocol contains a list of indicative event costings, excluding sailor airfares and accompanying parental costs, to allow sailors and parents to make informed decisions about the approximate cost of attending an AOST or Development Squad regatta. These costings are based on previous year’s experiences, however such costs can vary.
In order to fully understand the revised selection procedure and eligibility requirements, we suggest you read the “Australian Optimist Sailing Team & Development Squad 2020 Selection Protocol” available on the AIODA website.
