Wildcard entries have been secured for next month's Eagle Star Champion of Champions competition for both of Ireland's European and world champions but in a break with precedence there is no place for Ireland's top junior sailor.
1720 European title holder, Mark Mansfield and the Mirror World champion Marty Moloney, both of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, will be back on the water next month amongst a line-up of national champions.
Twenty four invitees drawn from racing's elite will contest the most prestigious title on the sailing calendar in Royal Cork's own 1720 club sportsboat class on November 6th but in a controversial move by the organisers, the automatic entry for Ireland's top junior sailor has been withdrawn.
In an attempt to breathe new life into the competition the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) have made the seventh fundamental change to the structure of the event that seeks to find the champion sailor from all of Ireland's classes over a weekend format of round robin racing in a selected one design dinghy or keelboat.
But in a break with tradition, that must be seen as detrimental to youth sailing, the ISA has turned the winner of their own Junior Helmsman trophy, Nicholas O'Leary (13), away.
It will be the first time the junior helmsman championship winner has not been invited to participate since the 1970s.
Initially the Royal Cork youngster, the current Optimist national champion, appeared to be the victim of his own youthful success under new rules for the competition which stated competitors must be over 18 years of age. "This was a considered decision. We picked people only on merit even if it meant a break in tradition. This year the junior helmsman winner did not have sufficient claim for a place over those who were selected," said the ISA's director of racing Harry Gallagher yesterday.
The age rule is supposedly designed, to protect boats from damage in inexperienced hands but was waived by a wild card panel consisting of the ISA's Director of Racing, the ISA Secretary General and John Godkin of Kinsale Yacht Club to allow in two other cases this year for junior sailors including Nicholas's elder brother, Peter (16) and top ranked Laser II sailor Michael Ferguson (16).
In the 1999 season Nicholas O'Leary has sailed 50 championship races in which the fleets were 50 boats or more and is one of the youngest winners of the junior helmsmans trophy.
Conor Walsh, the winner of this summer's Laser radial fleet at the Ben Ainslie regatta at Strangford Lough Yacht Club, will impart some of his race winning knowledge as part of a coaching session on the Lough tomorrow. Details from organiser John McWilliam on (08) 01238 542300.
