T&T's sailor Stefan Stuven is aiming to make a name on the international stage. He will be leaving tomorrow to compete at the North American Championships in California. It's expected to be a tough challenge for the athlete who is using the event as a build up towards the Junior Pan American Games.
00:00The North American Championships in California. That's the next to target for sailor Stefan Steuven, whose ultimate goal is to get to the Olympics.
00:09For now, though, he's using this competition as a training regatta ahead of the Junior Pan American Games in Asuncion in August.
00:16What drew me to this event is that it is a qualifier for the Senior Pan American Games, so it's really integral in its steps.
00:24And the Senior Pan American Games is actually a qualifier for the Olympics, if I remember correctly.
00:33So it's built in a way that you go from the Junior Pan American to the Senior Pan American and hopefully to the Olympics.
00:41Steuven indicated it's challenging to find races with an appropriate amount of contenders.
00:46So how good is he at reading conditions?
00:48I would say, and I would be a little bit biased, but I would say I'm pretty good at reading the conditions because it's one thing to be able to hike the hardest, be able to be physically strong.
01:01But then it's another ball game to be able to look at the conditions you're dealt with and almost predict what the wind is going to do.
01:11And so I've spent many years trying to learn it, and I always learn every day is a new day to learn more about what the wind could do.
01:21So I would say that I am good, but always room for improvement.
01:26He's currently coached by his brother and Olympian Andrew Lewis.
01:30They are able to help him train to push beyond fatigue after over six hours at sea per day.
01:35My coach right now is actually my brother. He's training me in Trindad.
01:42And then when I go to North Americans next week, Andrew Lewis, our Olympic sailor, will be coaching me there.
01:50So I would say the coach is just really who pushes you past your limits.
01:57So, you know, you would have the limits for yourself, and they would try and find that and really push past it.
02:03What makes the difference between a rookie sailor as opposed to a veteran?
02:07There's not only the physical aspect, but it's the boat almost speaks to you in a sense.
02:11It tells you what it likes to do, what it needs to do to go fast.
02:16And so getting that muscle memory, getting that feel for the boat, how to properly not jerk around the boat,
02:25just play the sail right, is one of what defines great sailors from world class.
02:34The North American Championships runs from June 12th to the 15th.
02:38He leaves tomorrow.
02:39On another note, the Secondary Schools Sailing League takes place this weekend at the Andrew Lewis Sailing Academy.
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