Hi, I'm Jack Gills, and a proud Optimist sailor for Team Canada 2022! I am 13 years old and train as a member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) and I was the youngest member of the CODA Worlds team. I currently rank 3rd in Canada for my class for the 2022 year. I recently competed in the IODA World Championship, in Bodrum, Turkey this past June. it was a tough competition with 62 countries and 285 sailors. I qualified for bronze fleet out of four fleets and placed 200th - a good result having never raced in the ocean before. It was an amazing experience and I learned so much! I am excited to compete this November at the North American Championship in Nassau, Bahamas and build on my experiences this season. I've trained hard and learned a lot and am excited for this competition! My goal for North Americans is to make gold fleet and place top 20 or better, this is a high goal but unlike Worlds, I feel I have a good chance at this!
I have progressed quickly in the standings since joining the race team in 2019 after junior club at RCYC. When not racing Opti, I also enjoy racing on my mom's 24 ft Shark and being invited to race on the VXOnes. I enjoy flying spinnaker! After Opti racing, I aim to join either the 29r fleet or the laser fleet and continue to compete competitively.
I hope you will support me in Representing Canada this year and into the future as I grow as a sailor.
Thank you so much!
Jack