Beatriz Gago and Guilherme Cavaco will represent the Algarve – and Portugal – in the Optimist World Championship which starts on Sunday, in Vilamoura, and runs until the 4th of July. The event, which is the world's largest sailing competition for the beginners class, will bring together close to 300 sailors, aged under 14, from 60 countries, and is expected to have a direct impact on the economy of 1,25 million euros.
The two young sailors from Algarve are confident of a good performance in the event. Beatriz Gago, from Clube Naval de Portimão, revealed to Sul Informação that, despite having never been to a World Cup and, therefore, «not having a great idea» of what to expect, wants to «learn more and have fun. I like this regatta field and I get along well with it».
The 14-year-old sailor is present at the World Championship after a fundraising campaign to pay for her registration, but Beatriz says she was always confident she wouldn't miss the event.
Guilherme Cavaco, 11, from the Clube Naval de Faro, is the youngest of the five sailors who will represent Portugal in the competition and guarantees that he will «do my best and learn new things. I don't know the fleet, but I'll try to be well classified».
Who has already won with the Optimist World Championship is the municipality of Loulé. Chamber vice president Hugo Nunes explained to Sul Informação that the event is important for several reasons: «this championship, in the first place, re-establishes the municipality of Loulé and Vilamoura Marina in the itinerary of major international sailing competitions. This is the first great motivation, the second is the dimension that the event has. It's an Optimist World Championship, with kids aged 14 and under, who come with their families, their coaches, who have people who are at home watching them and it allows them to show the world that, in Vilamoura, in the municipality in Loulé and in the Algarve, there are excellent conditions for sailing, the equipment that exists here is top-notch and that this region knows how to host very well».
In addition to the promotion, Hugo Nunes emphasizes “the sporting dimension. It's not every day that we have evidence of this dimension happening. It is the maximum exponent of a sport that has some distance from the normal citizen, but which, in our county, with this proximity, with this equipment, has to be blurred. We have the expectation that this event can help to win more sailors for sailing».
Tourism and catering should also win with this competition, which will take many thousands of people to Vilamoura.
“The organization estimates an impact of over 1 million euros directly. We are talking about many countries, with delegations with many people. We are entering the high season, but we are not in full swing. These people come and help raise occupancy rates and speed up entry into high season. I'm sure that, with a lot of quality in the service, the investment that will be made by each one of the athletes, each one of the delegations and by the families will have compensation in the quality of the service and in the time they will spend here», adds Hugo Nunes.
The opening ceremony of the Optimist World Championship is scheduled for this Saturday, at 20:00, and the first regatta is scheduled for Sunday, at 13:00. The race will consist of three days of individual races and two days of team racing, that is, team regattas.
The Optimist World Championship is organized by the Vilamoura Marina International Club (CIMAV) and has the support of the Portuguese Association of the Optimist Class (APCIO), under the authority of the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA).
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