EOL drives Olympic Sailing bid
One of Britain’s leading IT companies has put wind into the sails of the Olympic ambitions of two promising young sailors.
EOL IT Services, a major managed IT services company based at Maldon in Essex, has agreed a sponsorship deal with Tristan Hutt and Tom Clayton who hope to be in the Team Great Britain line-up in the 49er sailing class in 2012.
EOL is sponsoring the dynamic duo, whose home waters are the River Blackwater from the Stone Sailing Club in Essex, during a series of vital competitions that, they hope, will push them to the top of the British 49er class rankings.
Presenting a cheque for £1,500, Richard Parker, Managing Director of EOL, said: “Tristan and Tom work well together and have a number of national competitions under their belts. We feel they have great potential and we wish them luck in their endeavours. We are fully behind them and are following their results with interest.”
The revolutionary design of the 49er class dinghy makes it the fastest two-person, one-design mono-hull vessel and it has increased in popularity following its introduction as an Olympic class at the Sydney Games of 2000.
The high-performance potential of their own craft, christened “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast”, is giving Tom and Tristan, one of the youngest 49er crews in the UK, high hopes of Olympic selection.
Tristan, 21, from Maldon, and Tom, 19 from nearby Southminster are students. Tom is at Lougborough University and Tristan at the University of Kent where he has a sports scholarship.
Despite their youth, Tom and Tristan have decades of dinghy racing experience between them. Tristan began racing at four and won his first national championship aged 11. He has been among the medals and the top-10 finishers of a number of national events.
Tom is also a veteran of the UK dinghy racing scene with success in the Laser class. He has been sailing from a very early age and is no stranger to speedy craft, such as the Laser and 420 craft.
Tristan said: “We are very grateful for the support of EOL and we hope to justify the company’s faith in us with the consistently good performances that will put us in contention for the 2012 Olympics.
“The 49er class is very expensive and we compete all over England. The funding from EOL has come at just the right time because there is a new rig for the class and that is also expensive. 49ers are very fast craft, very responsive and nimble.
“The sponsorship means that we can compete in this year’s National Championships where doing well will put the spotlight on us. Then we can make the big push in 2010 and, hopefully, compete in the World Championships in the Caribbean in January to get into Olympic contention.
“We couldn’t do this without the help of EOL. We see us as being in tune with the company’s green credentials as we are competing in a carbon zero sport.”
