The 2024 RS Tera Class World Championships are August 3 to 8 in Greve, Denmark.
Park City Sailing Board President MJ Maloof said five local athletes will compete in the junior regatta.
“This is sort of the culmination of many years of work for these young athletes, having started a couple of them just get into a boat a few years ago, and they've progressed to a level where they're not just attending the worlds, they're contending,” he said.
The sailors will compete with RS Tera class boats, which Junior Sailing Program Director Christian Koules said are Park City Sailing’s transition boats. According to U.S. Sailing, the small dinghies are just over 9 feet long and were specifically designed for young sailors and racing.
Once the kids can sail on their own, they are put on the RS Tera and work toward competing in a North American or Worlds Championship. After that, they have the opportunity to transition into Olympic class boats.
To prepare for the race in Denmark, Koules said they traveled to other venues with a similar breeze to Denmark, like Richmond, California. However, the goal of the competition is not necessarily to win, but to develop boat handling and speed skills.
“We are not by any means interested in, you know, a top-five finish or a top-10 finish,” he said. “But what we are interested in especially since these are, some of our younger sailors is making sure that we're setting them up for success as they move forward in the sport.”
But before kids ever compete, the organization works to nurture a love of sailing in young sailors.
“We start at five where we have a half-day program for the little ones. And then, from there, we identify kids that seem really interested and passionate and we're very gentle with our approach to racing and that's yielded incredible result,” Koules said.
And Maloof said while many don’t think a ski town would have good sailing and the team does travel to other bodies of water to train, the Jordanelle Reservoir has everything needed to cultivate a great sailing athlete.
“Alpine venues, mountain venues tend to be lighter and shiftier and that really cultivates great sailing,” he said.
Park City Sailing has grown a lot since it was founded nearly 20 years ago. The organization just graduated its first collegiate-level sailor who is now racing at the Merchant Marine Academy in New York. It also had an athlete compete in the Olympic trials earlier this year.
Koules also won the national Coach of the Year Award in May. He said this was an especially great honor as parents and athletes submit nomination letters.
“What's neat about this award is typically it goes to your like blue blood East Coast programs, right? Coaches that have had long-standing successes,” Koules said. “But our program, as far as our racing side, is pretty new in the junior world. And so to receive the award after a few years is an incredible honor.”
Park City locals can keep track of championship results here.
