Interview with the Mums of the Irish 420 Girls
Mary Lawlor and Annemarie Andreason are the mothers of Jane Butler and Jenny Andreason, Ireland's Girls 420 class representatives at the ISAF Youth Worlds in Istanbul in July 2010 .
Do you travel to the girls events?
Some of them we do, They represented Ireland at the ISAF worlds in Buzios, Brazil last year and we were there.
Only got to see them on the lay day !
The girls are accommodated in a hotel with all the other competitors .no passes for parents to the hotel or boat park..
So there is one rule for everybody, no parental support for better or worse.Mary is going to Istanbul.
What are their chances?
They are well prepared and have done all the work..We don't discuss it at home, they are very competitive and set their own goalsWe don't add to that pressure.
They have put their best into it and their coaches and mentors know this.
What support does the club provide?
The club , principally through its Youth Scholarship Scheme YSS has been extraordinarily supportive.The YSS has provided structure, direction ,mentoring.
Johnny Ross Murphy who manages the YSS has a deep knowledge of what it takes to stay on track. He has been an incredible support to the girls.
They respect him and his sound advise. There is no pressure.. Just a step by step process.
What about coaching?
Last year ,the girls went to New Zealand for the spring of their transition year to train with Jo Aleh and later, Ian Neely.That was a visionary step, great timing, a real window of opportunity.
They were able to fully focus on the training...and yes.. they put other sports on absolute hold and concentrated on the one thing..
At home, they worked with olympian, Ger Owens at their local and British competitions. They travelled to France with coach Ross Killian also during February.
With this varied coaching, they have come on in leaps and bounds.
Ian has continued to support them and has been over here. He is very happy with the work they have put in since New Zealand and where they are right now.
He wants them in New Zealand for the 470 worlds in 2011. That was nice to hear.
But next year is leaving cert year!The girls are involved in the ISA academy and have been taken on board and benefitted from that .
The ISA provides invaluable funding and Sports Med for physical fitness and will also be providing the event managers and mentors/coaches for the worlds.
What school do Jane and Jenny go to ?
They go to different schools with Jane going to Alexandra College and Jenny to Mt Anville.
How do they get on ?
They have a great relationship, complementary personalities,..Yeah . .. A ying yang sort of thing.
On the boat , they communicate in code , like shorthand , rather than long sentences..which could be difficult to pick up or distracting.
What about personal development?
Lots of it..Sailing is an intense sport.. There are lots of situations that most of us don’t experience until later in life...they encounter these situations as do all sailors, very early on in life..
Pressure and protests and so on..time management and even project management!
They have many many friends from all around the world. ..on Facebook they have contacts from all over, different nationalities, cultures, languages.
So emotionally and socially they have to master many challenges and opportunities.
Also they develop technical skills to a high level .. As in sailing the boat.
They build skills from the bottom up and so have a very solid base.
What about schoolwork?
The sailing program has worked to advantage, for instance Jenny has chosen Honour Maths ,Physics and Applied Maths ..all together for the leaving ,
She is really interested.In fact she wants to be an engineer.
Yes.. Jane is very strong technically and a lot of these understandings come from the focus of sailing and managing their boats. Sailing and study tend to get equal focus.
They are very dextrous.That's something to note.. Ever since the beginning ,they have looked after the boat themselves.
Kenny Rumball and Dave Moran taught them how to take the boat apart at the beginning and it's stood to them throughout their sailing.
There is an idea in the 420 class that it's one and half of time on land to one of time on the water ..They operate their own tool box and do all the basic repairs.
Are you sailing families ?
Mary ..I have done a few sailing courses and do a little bit of leisure sailing.. Mostly help out on a rib and onshore.
My husband Ed Butler is a very keen sailor and still races competitively In the Fireball class at home and abroad.
Jane's brother, Ed, has been through the YSS program in the 29 er with Daniel McCarthy .He is now 20 and has moved on to sailing. 49ers.
In fact ,it's a compliment to the YSS that they were well managed and, so, retained their enthusiasm and commitment to sailing after completing their youth program
Annemarie..I do volunteering work ,recording and such , My husband Jorgen is very involved and has made many professional videos of the training,sailing and events.
He has just made a video of the BMW George Regatta . http://vimeo.com/13121153
Also Jenny's grandfather, Roger Andreasson,was a yacht designer in Sweden and ,in fact, designed the Shipman Class of which there are many racing in Dublin Bay.
Any advices for parents who may be thinking about this sort of campaign ?
Go for it...It can be a long, slow sometimes even painful process. But definitely no regretsIt's a great window of opportunity.We get on very well as two sets of parents.
For the girls ,it's an honour to represent and be ambassadors for their country..The YSS approach is also very parent friendly and we are always in the loop.
Final word?
Yes.. We wish Jane and Jenny well at the event !
Que sera sera ! They have worked hard , shown great commitment, achieved great success .for us they are already winners..
So enjoy the event..
