Muscat – Sixteen of Oman Sail’s best young prospects will compete against sailors from across the region at the 11th GCC Sailing Championship which is taking place from March 22-26 at Messilah Beach in Kuwait.

The Omani squad includes sailors under the age of 17 in the Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes, all of whom earned their place in the team by finishing in top positions a recent rankings race event held in Mussanah.

The Omani team comprises: Tameem Suleiman al Balushi (Optimist), Abdul Latif Zeyad al Qasmi (Optimist), Hassen Nasser al Wahaibi (Optimist), Feras Haitham al Nabhani (Optimist), Alaa Hassan al Hinae (Optimist), Hood Saad al Nofali (Optimist), AbdulRahman Khalid al Hadi (Optimist), Aous Maher al Busaidi (Optimist), Elyas Bader al Fadhly (ILCA 4), Nebras Ahmed al Owaisi (ILCA 4), Al Salim Ali al Hamdani (ILCA 4), Ahmed Hassan al Bulushi (ILCA 6), Zakariya Suleiman al Wahabi (ILCA 6), Musaab Mohaed al Hadi (ILCA 7), Abdulmalik Gharib al Hinae (ILCA 7) and Al Moutasem Hamood al Farsi (ILCA 7).

The sailors will be joined by Nawaf Yaqood al Ghadani (Team leader), Sultan AbdulAziz al Zadjali (Optimist coach), Muthir Issa al Kindi (ILCA 4 coach) and Hashim Hamed al Hashmi (ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 coach).

Nawaf al Ghadani, said, “This is a great opportunity for our rising stars to test themselves against the best young sailors in the region. It allows each sailor a chance to gain experience of high level competition, how to handle the pressure and put into practice the technique we have been working on in training. We have a strong squad and we’re looking forward to the Championships in Kuwait.”

Sultan al Zadjali, Optimist coach, said, “The GCC Sailing Championship is an important step in the journey toward becoming an elite sailor. Everyone representing Oman has earned their place by excelling in ranking races and we are hopeful of a good showing during the week. Each day is a new opportunity to improve, learn from the day before and help the sailors to reach their potential.”