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Sailor to talk about Sydney Olympics
Hamilton Spectator, Ken Peters, August 22, 2001 |
It's a long way from Hamilton Harbour to Sydney Harbour. But Canadian Olympic sailor Marty Essig hopes to link the two Saturday night when he provides his "Olympics in Review" presentation at the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club.
A Carlisle native who learned to sail and compete via the RHYC, Essig, 26, was the youngest member of Canada's sailing team that competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Essig, an engineer with Bayer Inc. in Sarnia, said he will present slides and show keepsakes from his Olympic experience, as well as talk about his memories and sailing experience. The event is being held as a fundraiser for RHYC junior sailing program. Tickets are $10 and available at the RHYC or by calling 905-528-8464.
Essig said his most memorable experience involves the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium. "The one that stands out is walking into the Olympic Stadium with the Canadian team. That was something else. That was awesome," he said. Essig, who started racing when he was 10, said the other remarkable aspect of the experience was the fact many of the Olympic competitors he had faced during his teenage competitive years.
While he has continued racing, Essig said his focus is more on coaching and he has become involved in lending his experience to some aspiring national team members. And there will be some of those on hand this weekend as well.
The RHYC is hosting the National team qualifiers for the Europe (division) dinghies this weekend as well. Four spots will be up for grabs as part of the qualifiers for the 2002 world championships, which the RHYC will host. The Europe class is an Olympic event for the women's teams, which should heighten the competition.
2002 regatta chairman Kathryn Crowder said this weekend's event will give the volunteers a chance to practice for the world championship activities. Some 15 RHYC volunteers have recently returned from the 2001 Europe worlds in Portugal and will be able to provide valuable input for a brainstorming session.
You can contact Ken Peters by e-mail at kpeters@hamiltonspectator.com or by telephone at (905) 526-3388.
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