By TERRY MADDAFORD
Determined to maintain this country's standing as one of the world's best sailing nations, Yachting New Zealand has lured some of the sport's greats as keynote speakers to a high-performance summit in Auckland this week.
The two-day conference, aimed at Olympic and other high-profile yachting, has attracted a cross-section of the world's best.
Included among the presenters are Olympic medallist and America's Cup skipper Buddy Melges (US), former Ukraine (now Australian) 470 coach Victor Kovalenko, three-time Olympic gold medallist Valentin Mankin (former Ukrainian, now Italy-based), and American John Kolius.
The brainchild of Yachting New Zealand high-performance manager Peter Lester, the summit aims to bring together New Zealand's best coaches with an eye to future Olympics and world championships.
"As part of the America's Cup commitment, the Government has put aside money which has been given to Yachting New Zealand as a grant," Lester said.
"This has allowed us to bring 10 of the world's best to Auckland.
"The knowledge they will bring to the two-day forum will be invaluable."
Melges will be the first speaker tomorrow morning. His message is simple: "What I have learned along the way to be successful".
Kovalenko - who coached Ukrainian 470 sailors to gold (men) and bronze (women) at the 1996 Olympics before moving to Australia, where he played the key role in that country's double-gold in the same class at the 2000 Olympics - will look at the differences between yachting in the Eastern bloc and Western cultures.
Kolius, who runs the biggest sailing school in the United States, will, on Friday, offer insight into professional sailing schools using his school as the model.
Dane Ib Anderson, closely involved with OK dinghies and Solings as well as One Ton Cup and Quarter Ton Cup classes, is president of North Sails in Europe and will discuss the future of sail design and innovation.
Frenchman Laurent Esquires promises to be one of the more interesting speakers when he looks at the "changing face of New Zealand yachting."
In his second term with Prada, Esquires is in his 10th America's Cup campaign. His first was in 1974. He has worked with many top sailors, including Dennis Conner and Chris Dickson.
After the two-day summit, the world-renowned speakers will be guests of Yachting New Zealand for the first day of America's Cup racing on Saturday.
Yachting: World's best offer tips on success on the water
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