The Youth Match Racing World Championship in Middelfart has moved to level the playing field this week, with World Sailing providing a dedicated Event Coach for teams who arrived without coaching support.
Around a third of competing teams receive regular coaching through clubs or sailing academies, and those teams frequently travel to international events with a coach. That advantage tends to show up in results.
To address the gap, the Youth Match Racing Working Group proposed that World Sailing appoint an Event Coach for the championship. Dayne Sharp, an experienced professional sailing coach, took on the role. He led a pre-event training clinic and has continued to offer feedback on boat handling, sail trim, and tactical decisions as racing has progressed.
Sharp says the response from sailors has been good. "Some of the teams here are not as experienced as the teams with their own coach, so it has been great to help them with their boat handling and tactical decisions, both during the clinic before the regatta and now as we are getting into the serious racing. The teams have been really receptive and have asked for feedback on their performances. It is all about helping each other and getting better, and I really like that."
Team Sweden's Theo Westerlind credits Sharp's involvement with a concrete result. "It has been great having Dayne here to help us. We do not have our own coach, but now we can always ask him about things like sail trim, our decisions on the water and anything else we need help with. He has been a great support, and we would not have made it to the quarter-finals without him."
Funding for the programme came from the World Youth Sailing Trust. Cory Sertl, World Sailing Vice President and trustee of the Trust, said not every national federation can afford to send a coach to international events. "Match racing is one of the strongest pathways into competitive sailing for young people. The format is easy to understand and forms the foundation for youth-level competition around the world. However, not every national federation can fund a coach to support their teams at international level, so I am very proud that the World Youth Sailing Trust has been able to help athletes from all eleven nations represented compete on equal footing with their peers."
Quarter-finals are due to be completed today, with semi-finals to follow. The final race day at the Youth Match Racing Worlds 2026, powered by Bunker One, takes place tomorrow.
