Buenos Aires 2018 YOG
A little less than a century ago, Benjamin Felipe Nazar, Juan Maria Obarrio, Jose Maria Piran, and a group of young entrepreneurs from San Isidro got together with the idea of finding a place in San Isidro where local families could enjoy the river and share their passion for all things nautical, regardless of their social position and where women could have the same decision-making power as men.
As such, on February 26, 1910, Club Náutico San Isidro - the site that will host the sailing competitions at the third summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games - was created.
The club was a pioneer in gender equality since women could be members and enjoy the same rights as men - something unusual at that time.
The main aim was to bring together young water sport enthusiasts, but also to include women and people from all socioeconomic levels without differentiating between professionals, state workers, shopkeepers, business people, workers, ranchers, artisans or tradespeople, all in the name of family, friendship, solidarity, and respect.
As the months went by, the members were able to clear the reeds and water hyacinths, and, with the use of a dredge, cleaned up the bottom of the river. As a result, a part of Sarandi Island was granted to the club in a concession to create the site for the association’s social club which was inaugurated in December of 1924.
Eight years later, tennis and golf joined the list of nautical activities on offer. The club also went on to incorporate the B Island on the delta, a 10-minute boat ride from Sarandi Island, where they established football and tennis activities, among others.
In a long list of sailing champions, one of the club’s big names is Santiago Lange, a gold medallist together with Cecilia Carranza Saroli in Nacra 17 at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. What’s more, the sailor, together with Carlos Espinola, took home the bronze medal twice for the Tornado category, first at Athens 2004 and then again at Beijing 2008.
The 56-year-old Olympian who was selected by the International Olympic Committee for the Athlete Role Models programme – an initiative that aims to inspire young athletes participating at Buenos Aires 2018 – was also the winner of four world championships (three in the Snipe category and one in Tornado), two silver medals at the Pan American Games (Caracas 1983 and Indianapolis 1987), in addition to other South American and European titles.
Known throughout the world, the Club Náutico San Isidro has been home to numerous competitions, including the World Snipe Championship (1981), the Optimist (2014) as well as the 49er and Star (2015). It will soon be time to add another milestone to its celebrated history.
The institution also has the fame of fostering the achievements of Lilian Harrison, known as the “Queen of La Plata” for being the first woman to swim from Colonia, Uruguay, to the coast of Buenos Aires, a feat she achieved in 24 hours.
World Sailing, the sport’s governing body, confirmed that there will be 100 young athletes (50 men and 50 women) from 44 countries at Buenos Aires 2018: 28 will compete in Nacra 15, 48 in windsurfer and 24 in kiteboarding. The athletes in these three categories will navigate the waters of the La Plata river from October 7 - 13.
The three competitions will use a low-point system, meaning that the first person to cross the finish line will receive one point, the second will receive two, and so forth. At the end of the series, the best and the worst race will be eliminated and the medallists in each category will be determined.
The Club Náutico San Isidro has been at the forefront of gender equality, a key step in the history of theOlympic Movement that will soon be achieved at the largest multisport celebration in Argentina’s history.