On the territory of St.Petersburg Yacht Club there was held Russian Dragon Open Championship. Regatta was held in full compliance with rules and regulations, all the seven flights planned were held, prizes and medals were awarded to the winners. The Championship appeared to be the practice area if to speak of the 2016 European Championship. Were all the plans fulfilled? This question was answered by Tatiana Kurbatova, Director of the Regatta and Executive Director of Russian Dragon Association.
– Tatiana, how do you appreciate the results of the Championship and have you encountered any difficulties while organizing the Event?
– There were some difficulties we encountered.
First of all, the number of applications for the Championship this year was less in comparison with the previous years and I believe this fact can be explained if you take into account the following different tendencies: some sailor took interest in some other yacht class, some had to stay in the office working very hard due to a serious situation in the country instead of spending time onboard of a yacht enjoying their hobby- it was a dilemma and many had to take the calendar and cross their participation in the regattas out.
Secondly, we have been hosting the regatta this year without the general sponsor. The previous years, when the general sponsor took part in the process of organization, Russian Championships were held at a larger scale and undisturbed if to speak about the revenue… This very year everything was a bit different, and it is worth mentioning that the complications that appeared on the organizational surface of the regatta came to stay instead of the complications of the previous years when the windless weather those days threatened seriously the possibility to hold the regatta according to the format of full value. Traditionally, July in St.Petersburg is practically windless, but this very year brought us absolutely different and wonderful weather conditions. Moreover, we managed to collect 19 boats at the starting line and that can be easily compared with the Championship in England or Championship in Ireland – the countries with enormous history and immense Dragon fleet. Today I can state that everything at the Event was more than just good – we did well! The regatta was a success, the practice area for 2016 European Championship proved to be a good one and the general rehearsal for the European Championship appeared to be a successful outcome!
– Some of the match racers think it is necessary for 2016 European Championship to additionally invite the organizers from abroad. Are you sure that St.Petersburg Yacht Club, the city itself and the organizers here are ready to host such a large-scale Event?
– I think St.Petersburg has a very strong team of professional organizers. All the events held in the city of St.Petersburg prove this fact. Let us take, for example, the finish of Volvo Ocean Race in 2009, which was organized by Natalia Fedorova, my colleague. International Match Race “Sails of White Nights”, a very complicated kind of regatta from the point of view of logistics, we have been holding for already ten years. Last year we held in St.Petersburg World Championship for “SB20” class yachts, the event that can be considered as complicated from the point of view of its organization as the forth coming 2016 European Dragon Championship. St.Petersburg has been for two years hosting the extreme 40 catamarans sailing races. Pro tanto, I am sure that we have already obtained that excellent experience that is necessary for the Events to be properly organized. St.Petersburg can boast of the very good tradition: though the competitions are different, but the backbone of team of professional organizers and judges is the same so I can definitely declare that we have obtained great diversified experience in conducting sailing competitions. To crown it all, St.Petersburg Yacht Club for many years being a reliable partner to Dragon Association and accompanying organization to all the yacht classes regattas held in St.Petersburg, has a well-developed infrastructure and not only its own team of highly-qualified organizers but a reputable experience in conducting the global sailing events in our city. That is why I am so sure that good fortune will accompany us in organizing and hosting the future European Championship. The main component is the wind of course, but as the last experience showed us, our Chief Referee, Vladimir Komel, has the talent to conduct competitions even under windless weather conditions.
– Are there any diversities in the work of Russian and European teams if to judge as an independent expert?
– As you know, during the last seven years I am a part of the organizational committees of many international regattas starting from the first grade in Dragon yacht class to the World and European Championships. Regattas are held in different countries – in France, Denmark, Holland, Italy. I would like to underline the fact that the Russian organizers are keeping to the highest mark in their work. I suppose our standards and requirements are higher even to ourselves. We demand all the staff at the regatta should speak good English. We deliver the best quality photos from our events. We always offer good food to our sailors after the races. We always have a doctor in the racing village available on shore or aboard in emergency – I haven’t seen anything like that in Europe, not at a single regatta. And it goes without saying we pay special attention to the cultural program ashore. Let us take Russian Dragon Open – it is famous for the evening parties and gala dinners. Such a large-scale, overwhelming the boundaries of the obligatory sport program format of the competitions we offer and we suggest to our customers (and for us the teams are our customers) is based on our will to give to our clients and customers the most sophisticated well-balanced complex of services, not only to organize starting and finishing line of the match race. And that is far from being typical for the European sailing competitions. Our task as the organizers of the competitions is to create such an atmosphere at the event when every sailor would feel safe, and sound, and comfortable getting positive emotions, pleasure and the desire to come back to participate in the next regatta.
– Is it necessary to invite additionally the members of the European Organizational Committee for the regatta?
– We do it but only when it concerns the umpires and referees. For example, at 2016 European Championship the main measurer, very likely, will be Günther Ahlers from Germany and Yves Leglise from France will be the Inernational Jury Head. As far as the organizational committee is concerned- I don’t think it is obligatory, as I have a very good team of organizers and judges, and we have been working as one hand for already five years. Not a single regatta works in such a way and with so long-term goals. No doubt about it, we are ready to host 2016 European Championship!
– 2016 European Championship will be hosted by one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Definitely you will be organizing sight-seeing tours in St.Petersburg, won’t you?
– Surely it would not be quite reasonable to come to St.Petersburg just to visit the racing village, to go with the wind on the waters of the Finnish bay – to participate in the properly organized competition is one thing, but to see the astonishing beauty of the city with the drawbridges, the Hermitage, Peterhof is another, and a very valuable one, believe me. Even to enjoy a short trip by a river taxi along our channels is worth spending the time. To cut a long story short, we can talk endlessly about the beauty of St.Petersburg but it is better to come and judge for yourself, as you know. And we by all means put our heads together to organize the Event in such a way as to give our guests that chance to combine business, pleasure and leisure.
