Optimist Baltimore Spring Training Week 2018
Baltimore Spring Training Week 2018 takes place from Sunday 11th February to Friday 16th February 2018 and will open for registration on Wednesday November 15th.
Registration for 2018 Annual IODAI membership will also open on November 15th.
What is The Baltimore Spring Training Week?
The Baltimore Spring Training Week event is considered to be one of the top International sailing clinics in Europe. It is an action packed week of fun for all the family. This event is about making friends and having fun on and off the water in a safe environment. It is a wonderful opportunity for new and returning sailors to improve their skills during the weeklong training event.
A team of International coaches from Greece, & Poland are joined by top Irish coaches to provide training for sailors of all competencies, from those who have only recently started to sail to those who are competing internationally.
The week is very much a family-oriented event, with a programme of activities for children too young to sail, and events also organised for adults, such as the ‘How to Rig an Oppi’ class for novice parents! Schull & Fitbones provides activities for those 5 years and upwards who are not yet sailing. They do Baltimore Treasure Hunt and Playground games, Sherkin Island trip and an Adventure Challenge in Lough Hyne Woods.
Evening activities are also on offer, including the ever-popular cinema night and also a disco night. In addition the week finishes off with a one day regatta which helps sailors consolidate all they have learnt during the week & to put it into practice.
Who can attend the week?
The Baltimore Spring Training Week is open to all IODAI members. Being Ireland’s largest sailing camp, the week generally caters for up to 160 optimist sailors from 8 – 15 yrs old and is an event not to be missed if you have a child who sails an Optimist.
We particularly encourage sailors who have not attended an event outside their own club in the past, to consider coming to Baltimore, which is a non-competitive, fun week intended to build enthusiasm for sailing and to allow sailors from around the country to get to know each other.
All hands on deck
The event is organised by IODAI which is comprised of volunteers, who are the parents of sailors. It takes 25 to 30 volunteers per day to run the event efficiently and the overall event is managed by Mandy Kelly and Kristina O’Regan both parents of sailors. Because everyone is a volunteer, Baltimore is an, ‘all hands on deck’ week, with parents encouraged to lend a hand with the work that goes into making it such a special event for our children. Helping out with making sailors lunches, doing slip duty, rescue on the water, or safety checking of boats, means that parents will get to know each other just as well as the sailors do.
Entry Fee
Enter early to avail of the early bird offer. Early entry fee is €200 per child (available until 8th January). Late Entry Fee is €300 up until 15th January. Entries are closed on 15th January and no further entries will be accommodated.
You must be an IODAI member to enter. The IODAI membership fee of €60.01 can also be paid on Nov 15th.
More about Baltimore
The event is hosted by Baltimore Sailing Club, which is set in the beautiful harbour of Baltimore, West Cork. This is a tremendous family week as Baltimore has accommodation to suit everyone with a wide selection of Holiday Homes, Apartments, Bed & Breakfast and Casey’s Hotel.
IODAI Forum 2018
An IODAI forum takes place during the Baltimore week where all parents are invited to express their views or seek information on the running of the Optimist class.
Keep an eye on www. IODAI.com & our Facebook page for more updates!
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