My name is Maddy, and I first started sailing because my best friend in primary school convinced me to join Northbridge Sailing Club’s learn to sail program when I was in year four, so when I was about ten years old. I’m now heading into my seventh year in the sport. After learning to sail, I moved into Northbridge Juniors sailed those for I think about a season, then I started sailing Flying Elevens. After a couple of seasons of limited success in the F11, I started the Skiff Skills program, jumping into the 29er. I loved it, and I’ve been in it ever since. The first season I found success in the 29er was in 2017 when my skipper Maddy Sloane and I won first girls at the Queensland Youth Week regatta. Last season, my skipper Max Giffney and I were first mixed crew at the Nationals in Hobart, placing 15thoverall and 3rdin New South Wales. We also placed 2nd overall, 1st mixed and 1st juniors at the 29er States 2019, held at Middle Harbour.
This year I’m sailing with Zoe Dransfield, who won the Flying 11 Nationals in 2019, and we are competing compete in the 2019 Poland World Championships in the 29er Class on the 26th July until the 3rd of August. We hope that going to Worlds will significantly improve our skills in the 29er and prepare us to achieve our end goal of qualifying for the female spot to go to the Youth Worlds in 2020, which requires us to be the first females in Youth Nationals at the end of the year. We hope it will gift us with the ability to strengthen our bond as a team and skills as sailors. Both Zoe and I have been in the NSW Youth Sailing Squad (YST) for the past season and are now part of the NSW Institute of Sport “Training Partners” program, however as this is our first season sailing together, we need healthy competition that will drive us towards achieving our aim. The worlds are our first big regatta together, and we are craving an opportunity to test ourselves against the best sailors in the world.
We are incredibly excited to get the opportunity to represent our club and our country overseas for the first time, and we are looking forward to what is to come in our sailing futures.
Last Modified on 28/07/2019 21:26