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The
sport of sailing was first introduced into Myanmar back
in 1924 when a group of sailing enthusiasts formed a club
which was then known as the Rangoon Sailing Club, now
called the Yangon Sailing Club, on the western shores
of the magnificent Inya Lake, not far from the heart of
Yangon City itself. Then in 1956, the national authority
Burma Yachting Federation (BYF), known today as the Myanmar
Yachting Federation (MYF) was established. During that
time, BYF was the first of its kind in the entire South
East Asian Peninsula (SEAP) Region, now known as the SEA
Region. It was then headed by U Maung Maung Lwin, who
was not only a keen sailor himself, but was also an active
and dynamic member of the National Olympic Committee.
Under his leadership, Myanmar sailors even ventured out
to participate in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in the
1960 Rome Olympics Yachting Events.
In
1961 as a milestone achievement, Yachting was included
for the first time in the 2nd SEAP Games which was held
in Myanmar as the host country. However, Yachting Event
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included
off and on during the subsequent SEAP Games depending
on the wishes of the respective
host countries. |
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1966, a new Executive Committee was established which
was led by Commander Aung Gyi (Myanmar Navy) a dynamic
sailor, who himself keenly participated in the 4th SEAP
Game held in Bangkok in 1967. Then, in 1969 Myanmar again
hosted the 5th SEAP Games where Yachting Event was again
included with four classes of boats. With the introduction
of systematic training methods programmes introduced prior
to the 5th SEAP Games, improvements in skill as well as
the momentum in competitive sailing became dramatically
enhanced, with many Myanmar sailors bringing back medals
and glory for their country. |
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Some
of the key elements stipulated in the Charter of the Myanmar
Yachting Federation since
in 1956 are -
»to
promote the sailing qualities of an athlete, whare priority
is to be given to assist in building up
the
standard of sailing, until he or she ca get involved in the
highly intricate art of racing
»to
recruit and instigate among the sport circles of the country
leading to enhancement in popularity and further
proliferation of the sport
»to
encourage dinghy building techniques as well as production of
related parts and fittings
»to
co-operate with and to assist any other yachting associations
domestically as well as from abroad, in order
to further promote the sport of sailing
With
the aforesaid aims and objectives in mind, and with the Yangon
Sailing Club serving at the backbone and breeding grounds of
future sailors, the Myanmar Yachting Federation at present will
not waive in its plans to continue to conduct Regattas, Sailing
Courses, Coaching Clinics along ambitious development plans
not only to increase the number people interested in sailing,
but also to enhance the competitive ability of the sailors in
Myanmar and in the Region. |
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