Kristine Roug, "Yoda" of young sailors in the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship

While it is highly imperative to criticize all that is wrong in the sport of sailing it is equally fundamental to praise all actions that help promote the sport, especially when they concern young sailors coming from developing sailing countries. One such initiative is the Athletes Participation Programme (APP), introduced by ISAF in 2002, and assists those young sailors with the costs associated with attending an event. The athletes participating in APP are entitled to a coach, if they don't have one, travel subsidy and entry fee subsidy.

I wasn't able to find any data concerning 2010 but in 2009 the countries that benefited from APP funding during the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship were Botswana, Nigeria, Andorra, Angola, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Netherlands Antilles, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and South Africa.

Each year a different coach is designated and in 2010 it is Olympic gold medallist and three time Europe Class World Champion, Kristine Roug from Denmark. Roug is busy in Istanbul providing the teenage sailors with comprehensive coaching support that includes self preparation, boat preparation, race strategy and, equally important, video debriefs after the races. Experience has shown that for many of the sailors it was the first time ever they were able to watch themselves racing. Watch the interesting video where Roug explains her role and see why one of the athletes calls her "My Yoda".

Danish Olympic gold medallist Kristine Roug is this year's designated "Yoda" for the young sailors. Istanbul, 16 July 2010. Video copyright Volvo Youth Worlds