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Wakeboard history has just been made by our two most talented Irish Team Wakeboard Riders. Against the very best Wakeboard Riders in the World and also against fierce international competition for these prestigious invitations, the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation World Cup Selectors have invited Sian Hurst (Belfast) and David O'Caoimh (Dublin) to take part in the World Cup Series for the very first time. Congratulations to Sian and David on this major international recognition.

In the coming days, Sian and David will board their long haul flights from Dublin for Kuching City in Sarawak, Borneo. This will be the 31st World Cup Stop in this very successful Series. To date, it has travelled through London, Moscow, Alexandria, Singapore, Beijing, Doha, Chuncheon, Liuzhou and many other exotic venues, including Enniskillen ! The Series will finish this year in Linyi City in China immediately after the Sarawak Stop.

wakeboard girl

Sian

Sian and David have shown enormous progress in recent times. Their World Cup selection is very well deserved. They will join the current World Wakeboard Open Champions, Harley Clifford AUS and Raimi Merrit USA and will compete against a star studded line-up of 30 athletes from 20 countries. This will be by far the biggest challenge ever for any Irish Team Rider and they are well prepared for this extraordinary test.

wakeboard ireland

Sian and David

Twenty one year old Sian Hurst recently took the Gold Medal at Chill & Ride Challenge in Germany, the Silver Medal in the World Championships in 2007 and the Bronze Medal at the European Championships in 2008. She has been the Irish National Wakeboard Champions from 2007 to 2011, in spite of a knee injury last year. Seventeen year old David O'Caoimh is the reigning Irish National Wakeboard Champion, and this year alone has taken the Gold Medal at UK Wakestock and a Silver Medal at the World Championships in Italy.

David Wakeboard

David

The Kuching City World Cup Stop will be a very special experience. It will form an important part of the historical Sarawak Regatta founded in 1872. Over 400 elaborate canoes, dragon boats and long boats will have 6,000 paddlers on board ! There will be a LIVE Webcast and for those who want to share in the thrills and performances of Sian and David, here is the Link to bookmark for Saturday and Sunday, September 17th/18th. Sarawak is GMT +8hrs.

http://247.tv/waterski/freestream/2011-sarawak-wakeboard-world-cup/ <http://247.tv/waterski/freestream/2011-sarawak-wakeboard-world-cup/>

One of the organisers is Irish Waterski & Wakeboard Federation President, Des Burke-Kennedy, and he will be reporting back here throughout the World Cup Series as usual.

After Sarawak, David has also been invited to move on to Linyi City in China for the final World Cup Stop of the year. Sian may yet get an invitation there if anybody falls off that Entry List.

Congratulations to both Sian and David - and good luck in this amazing World Cup experience.

Published in Waterskiing

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award

This unique and informal competition was inaugurated in 1979, with Mitsubishi Motors becoming main sponsors in 1986. The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs. 

In making their assessment, the adjudicators take many factors into consideration. In addition to the obvious one of sailing success at local, national and international level, considerable attention is also paid to the satisfaction which members in every branch of sailing and boating feel with the way their club is run, and how effectively it meets their specific needs, while also encouraging sailing development and training.

The successful staging of events, whether local, national or international, is also a factor in making the assessment, and the adjudicators place particular emphasis on the level of effective voluntary input which the membership is ready and willing to give in support of their club's activities.

The importance of a dynamic and fruitful interaction with the local community is emphasised, and also with the relevant governmental and sporting bodies, both at local and national level. The adjudicators expect to find a genuine sense of continuity in club life and administration. Thus although the award is held in a specific year in celebration of achievements in the previous year, it is intended that it should reflect an ongoing story of success and well-planned programmes for future implementation. 

Over the years, the adjudication system has been continually refined in order to be able to make realistic comparisons between clubs of varying types and size. With the competition's expansion to include class associations and specialist national watersports bodies, the "Club of the Year" competition continues to keep pace with developing trends, while at the same time reflecting the fact that Ireland's leading sailing clubs are themselves national and global pace-setters

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award FAQs

The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs.

A ship's wheel engraved with the names of all the past winners.

The Sailing Club of the Year competition began in 1979.

PR consultant Sean O’Shea (a member of Clontarf Y & BC) had the idea of a trophy which would somehow honour the ordinary sailing club members, volunteers and sailing participants, who may not have personally won prizes, to feel a sense of identity and reward and special pride in their club. Initially some sort of direct inter-club contest was envisaged, but sailing journalist W M Nixon suggested that a way could be found for the comparative evaluation of the achievements and quality of clubs despite their significant differences in size and style.

The award recognises local, national & international sailing success by the winning club's members in both racing and cruising, the completion of a varied and useful sailing and social programme at the club, the fulfilling by the club of its significant and socially-aware role in the community, and the evidence of a genuine feeling among all members that the club meets their individual needs afloat and ashore.

The first club of the Year winner in 1979 was Wicklow Sailing Club.

Royal Cork Yacht Club has won the award most, seven times in all in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2015 & 2020.

The National YC has won six times, in 1981, 1985, 1993, 1996, 2012 & 2018.

Howth Yacht Club has won five times, in 1982, 1986, 1995, 2009 & 2019

Ireland is loosely divided into regions with the obviously high-achieving clubs from each area recommended through an informal nationwide panel of local sailors going into a long-list, which is then whittled down to a short-list of between three and eight clubs.

The final short-list is evaluated by an anonymous team based on experienced sailors, sailing journalists and sponsors’ representatives

From 1979 to 2020 the Sailing Club of the Year Award winners are:

  • 1979 Wicklow SC
  • 1980 Malahide YC
  • 1981 National YC
  • 1982 Howth YC
  • 1983 Royal St George YC
  • 1984 Dundalk SC
  • 1985 National YC (Sponsorship by Mitsubishi Motors began in 1985-86)
  • 1986 Howth YC
  • 1987 Royal Cork YC
  • 1988 Dublin University SC
  • 1989 Irish Cruising. Club
  • 1990 Glenans Irish SC
  • 1991 Galway Bay SC
  • 1992 Royal Cork YC
  • 1993 National YC & Cumann Badoiri Naomh Bhreannain (Dingle) (after 1993, year indicated is one in which trophy is held)
  • 1995 Howth Yacht Club
  • 1996 National Yacht Club
  • 1997 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 1998 Kinsale Yacht Club
  • 1999 Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club
  • 2000 Royal Cork Yacht Club (in 2000, competition extended to include class associations and specialist organisations)
  • 2001 Howth Sailing Club Seventeen Footer Association
  • 2002 Galway Bay Sailing Club
  • 2003 Coiste an Asgard
  • 2004 Royal St George Yacht Club
  • 2005 Lough Derg Yacht Club
  • 2006 Royal Cork Yacht Club (Water Club of the Harbour of Cork)
  • 2007 Dublin Bay Sailing Club
  • 2008 Lough Ree YC & Shannon One Design Assoc.
  • 2009 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2010 Royal St George YC
  • 2011 Irish Cruiser Racing Association
  • 2012 National Yacht Club
  • 2013 Royal St George YC
  • 2014 Kinsale YC
  • 2015 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 2016 Royal Irish Yacht Club
  • 2017 Wicklow Sailing Club
  • 2018 National Yacht Club
  • 2019 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2020 Royal Cork Yacht Club

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