While the sailing events are going on at the Beijing Olympics, the sailing stars of the future will be competing in Wales at the UK National and Open Optimists Championships.
It is a title which has been won in the past by Ben Ainslie and Nick Rogers, of Great Britain’s current Olympic team, while several other British Olympians have competed in this event.
It starts on August 11th and will be the largest ever championship for a single class in the UK with more than 450 entries between the ages of 9 and 15 in three categories, as well as being the biggest junior sailing event held in Britain this year, with competitors from 12 other countries.
Sports Council for Wales Chair, Philip Carling, explains, "It is poignant that this event takes place while Ainslie and Co battle it out at the Olympic Games.
"Many of the Olympic sailors started their career in the Optimist class so it will be interesting to see how our Welsh youngsters progress.
"We have a really strong crop of talent at the moment. The hard work of the coaches and sailors is certainly paying off. Staging the event in Pwllheli underlines the ongoing success of the club which has also led to its selection as a London 2012 training camp venue".
The Welsh Yachting Association will have a strong Welsh team of young sailors who will be trying to gain the title of British National Champion, last held by a Welsh sailor in 2002 when Hannah Mills became the first girl to be crowned.
Among the Welsh competitors to look out for are the Pain brothers, Tom and David (pictured above), along with Cardiff Bay colleagues Molly Frost and Will Creaven.
Matthew Whitfield from Penarth will be taking part on the back of winning the Welsh schools and clubs championship. Josh Burgess from Mumbles won the Eric Twiname this year against all the top British competition.
North Wales will be strongly represented by Toby Morsley from Port Dinorwic, another who was successful at the schools and clubs championship, while Gwent’s Myles Jackson will also be in the mix.
"We have a lot of excellent up-and-coming sailing talent in Wales so it will be really interesting to see how they fare against the best of Britain and many other countries in home waters at Pwllheli," said Welsh Yachting Association director of sailing Tim Hall.
Optimist is a class of boat for the younger sailor, most competitors sail in this at junior levels before graduating onto the bigger boats at senior level.
This is a major showcase event for the Sailing Club and Events Academy in Pwllheli. It is also supported by the Welsh Yachting Association and Plas Menai National Watersports Centre.
Pwllheli is the only London 2012 Pre-Games Training Facility for the sport of sailing in Wales.
Seb Coe visited Pwllheli Sailing Club in May 2008 and praised the club for its event facilities and its work with local young people under the 5x60 programme from Ysgol Glan y Mor and Ysgol Botwnnog. The club is also running Start Sailing programmes with local primary schools as an output from a WAG Major Events grant.
This WAG grant supported the International Cadet World Championship in August 2007, the UK Youth Championships in April 2008 and will assist the International Mirror World Championship in August 2009.
Image credit: Peter Newton Images