Volvo Car Belux, La Fédération Francophone du Yachting Belge (FFYB) and the SNEH club are joining forces to create the first sailing academy in Wallonia, the Volvo Sailing Academy.
The mission of this new organisation is to offer skills training courses open to all the Federation's member clubs, in all dinghy classes (Optimist, Laser, Spirou etc.), with the aim of improving sporting performance.
By providing excellent support from experienced, high-level coaches, the FFYB’s aim is to guide young people towards competition and high-level sailing. The creation of this body will allow the members of the Academy to achieve ESA and ESI “sports hopeful” status.
Most of the training courses will take place on the Plate Taille lake. While the SNEH will be responsible for Laser 4.7 and Spirou classes, the FFYB will mainly be in charge of Laser Standards and Optimists. A team of four young people (Félix, Magali, Yuya and Natan) from Volvo Opti Tour will be coached by Antoine Maréchal in a specific programme encompassing both training and regattas.
The young trainees will also receive advice and benefit from the extensive experience of the leading light behind this new venture, Jonas Gerckens, Volvo's skipper and sailor of the year, a high-level athlete who will be taking part in the start of the Route du Rhum in November.
Wim Maes, Managing Director of Volvo Car Belux: "We are extremely proud to have initiated this historic link between the Volvo brand and the sailing community. We hope all those who take part will very much enjoy being on the water and will gain all the preparation they need for a great sailing career".
THE VOLVO SAILING ACADEMY IS BORN
Volvo Car Belux, La Fédération Francophone du Yachting Belge (FFYB) and the SNEH club have joined forces to set up the first sailing academy in Wallonia, the Volvo Sailing Academy! The organisation will be based at the Plate Taille lakes, which are very well suited to this type of training. Jonas Gerckens, who will be setting out on the Route du Rhum in November, is spearheading this new project, which has always been very close to his heart.
Since March 2018 the Academy has focused on Olympic dinghies (Optimist and Laser) and non-Olympic dinghies (Spirou). Eventually, the aim is to offer double-handed dinghy coaching as well and extend the Academy to include offshore sailing.
In practical terms, the FFYB will be responsible for the Optimist and Laser Standard dinghies (this activity will be starting in 2019), while the SNEH will work more with the Laser 4.7 and Spirou classes.
For the Optimist class, two programmes have been launched this year, skills development days and the Opti Team.
- The Optimist skills development course includes eight scheduled training days between April and October, mostly on the Plate Taille lakes, focusing on improving skills. The young people will be coached by Alexandre Lefin.
Information and registration: 081/30.49.79 or info@ffyb.be
- The Opti Team consists of four young people from Volvo Opti Tour, Félix, Magali, Yuya and Natan, coached by Antoine Maréchal, who will be following a specific course encompassing training and regattas. The training will take place at the Plate Taille site and also at a coastal site (KYCM or Spuikom in Ostend).
The 2018 programme is as follows:
The SNEH will be more involved with the Spirou class - these are popular dinghies and SNEH has an excellent team for this class - and also with Laser 4.7 dinghies. A programme of training days and regattas has been scheduled:
For more information, please contact Eric Van Houten on 0475/402 551 or via ericvanhouten@hotmail.be
This Academy is open for all dinghy classes to all young people in all FFYB clubs. The aim is to guide these young people towards competition and high-level sailing, in the hope that some of them will follow in the footsteps of Jonas Gerckens and Wannes Van Laer.
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Volvo Car Group in 2017
Voor het boekjaar 2017 liet Volvo Car Group een bedrijfswinst optekenen van 14.061 miljoen SEK (11.014 miljoen SEK in 2016). De omzet voor dit boekjaar bedroeg 210.912 miljoen SEK (180.902 miljoen SEK). In 2017 verkocht Volvo Car Group wereldwijd 571.577 auto's, ofwel 7% meer dan in 2016. De resultaten accentueren de uitgebreide transformatie van Volvo Cars’ financiën en activiteiten gedurende de voorbije jaren en stuwen het bedrijf in de richting van de volgende groeifase.
Over Volvo Car Group
Volvo is actief sinds 1927. Vandaag is Volvo Cars een van de bekendste en meest gerespecteerde automerken ter wereld. In 2017 werden 571.577 Volvo's verkocht in ongeveer 100 landen. Volvo Cars is sinds 2010 eigendom van de Chinese Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding). Het bedrijf maakte deel uit van de Zweedse Volvo Group tot 1999, toen het werd gekocht door het Amerikaanse Ford Motor Company. In 2010 werd Volvo Cars uiteindelijk overgenomen door Geely Holding.
In 2017 telde Volvo Cars ongeveer 38.000 (30.400) voltijdse werknemers. De hoofdzetel, productontwikkeling, marketing en administratie van Volvo Cars zijn hoofdzakelijk gevestigd in Göteborg, Zweden. De hoofdzetel van Volvo Cars in China is gevestigd in Shanghai. De grootste autofabrieken van het bedrijf zijn gevestigd in Göteborg (Zweden), Gent (België), Chengdu en Daqing (China), terwijl de motoren worden gemaakt in Skövde (Zweden) en Zhangjiakou (China) en de carrosserieonderdelen in Olofström (Zweden).
