| MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA-(24-12-2004) Yachting Australia on behalf of the program partners, are pleased to announce the appointment of Brendan Todd, coach for the inaugural South Australian High Performance program.
The new South Australian High Performance program is a partnership between Yachting Australia, Yachting South Australia, and the South Australian Institute of Sport (SASI).
The program will be officially launched in February 2005. At this time there will also be an information night for the South Australian sailing community.
Brendan has fulfilled a very successful sailing career as an athlete at the highest levels and after retiring from elite sailing wishes to continue to help other sailors reach higher levels of performance.
'This program is a really good opportunity to add another level to the excellent youth and development training already established in South Australia. The High Performance Program will give youth sailors the chance to move into the next level of training – the National Senior program,' Brendan Todd said.
The South Australian High Performance program will be based at the SASI, and program members will operate from Adelaide Sailing Club. The program represents an exciting new period for high performance sailing in South Australia – the home of many top sailors over the years.
The inclusion of a sailing program by the SASI is a tremendous boast to Olympic and Paralympic sailing in South Australia.
'I believe that Brendan’s valuable experience at Olympic level will bring effective results from South Australian athletes, and result in representatives from South Australia at the Olympic Games and South Australia’s first ever Olympic sailing medals,' said Yachting Australia Head Coach, Victor Kovalenko.
About Brandon Todd
Brendan’s first sailing experiences began in a Flying Fifteen, but he made a transition to the Windsurfing discipline at a young age. His success in the Windsurfing class stretches from Youth World Championship medals to Olympic Games experience.
Brendan has seized many opportunities to sail various classes of yachts including the Laser, Tasar, and Tornado Catamaran. He has also sailed and raced on many different sized keel boats in events in Australia and New Zealand.
Having completed his NCAS Level II Coaching accreditation, Brendan accepted a full time position as a Yachting Australia National Class Coach in 1998. In 2001 he was the first sailing recipient of a coaching scholarship under the Australian Sports Commission’s National Coach Scholarship Program.
His career as a Yachting Australia coach, which spans over six years, saw him coach at two Olympic Games – Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
In addition to working with the development of elite athletes, Brendan has attended many state development camps, working with a variety of international and national junior, youth and senior classes, including the Minnow, Sabot, Optimist, Pelican, Laser Radial, International Cadet, Mirror, Mistral, Impulse, 420m Laser, 470, 125 and Paper Tiger.
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