The Bay of Portmany hosts the Balearic Optimist Championship

It is a tradition that coinciding with the Balearic Islands Day festivities, the Balearic Optimist Championship is held in the archipelago, the main event of this modality. It is a selective event, in which the best sailors from the islands take part.

On this occasion, Mallorca is bringing 65 sailors, Ibiza 15 and Menorca 9, who will meet tomorrow at the regatta course in the Bay of Portmany. Club Nàutic Sant Antoni, as well as the organisers, is bringing eight sailors: María Torres, Rodrigo Gil, Candela Martín, Leo Gonzato, Héctor Sanchís, Giulio Planells, Marc Serrano and Flavia Planells.

In addition to the provincial title, the participants will fight for the qualification to the national championships. Only a total of 17 will form part of the regional team, which in turn will compete to qualify for the international events. The regatta will start tomorrow and finish on Sunday, with three races per day, conditions permitting. Today, in addition, the registration and sealing of the material is already underway. The prize-giving ceremony will be held on Sunday, at around 4pm, in the CNSA Sports Area.

In the island phases of the qualification system, 250 sailors have participated, who competed in their first competition in November last year, with the Federation Cup held in Palma, the city where the last round of the Balearic ranking will also take place, with the final of the Jocs Escolars, on 16th and 17th of March. With these three regattas, including this weekend's, a classification is obtained in which the top 15, plus another two at technical criteria, form the team that will represent the Balearic Islands in the Spanish Cup and Championship. These will take place between the 25th and 30th of March at the Real Club de Regatas de Alicante, and between the 28th of April and the 1st of May at the Club de Mar de Almería, respectively. The main favorites are Lucas Montoya, Amalia Coll and Sean Sadler, all three from the CN Arenal, and Nico Palou (current European runner-up), Ignacio Martín and Maria Delluc, from the RCN Palma.

The regional Optimist regattas generate a lot of expectation among clubs and families for all that is at stake: classification, ranking, competition, discards... They are experienced in a competitive but pleasant atmosphere, where the coach of each team plays a very important leadership role.