On Friday June 21st, the Sint Maarten Yacht Club (SMYC) hosted its End of the Year Ceremony. This event brought together students from all SMYC’s sailing programs: the Primary School Program, the After School Program, and the Sailability Program.
The ceremony, held at the SMYC Dock, was attended by parents, family members, and friends of all the students. Throughout the evening, sailing instructors recognized the hard work and progress of their students, presenting them with progress reports, diplomas, and certificates according to their sailing levels.
The event kicked off with the Sailability students showcasing their achievements from the past season. The students sailed independently, accompanied by Oskar Versteegden, one of the sailors from the SMYC racing team, in the Sailability boat. As soon as the students returned to the SMYC dock, the ceremony commenced.
The first up were the students from the After School Program. Students were called forward by their groups. Sailing instructors: Sam Elja and Windy handed out the progress reports and the certificates together with the assistant sailing instructors. The students received a progress report or an IYT (International Yacht Training) Sailing Diploma. These diplomas are recognized all over the world. The Sint Maarten Yacht Club is able to hand these diploma’s out, in collaboration with the Maritime School of the West Indies.
Next, the Primary School Program students received their certificates. Unfortunately, Casey, one of the Primary School Program instructors, was off island and could not join the ceremony. The diplomas were handed out by the remaining team of instructors: Elja and Windy.
The evening concluded with the Sailability Program. Although Maria, one of the instructors, was unable to attend, the other two instructors: Elja and Windy proudly handed out the certificates, celebrating the achievements of all Sailability students.
Sam Peeks, sailing instructor and racing team coach at SMYC, expressed his pride in the students’ progress: “We have seen amazing growth this sailing season once again! Those who didn’t collect a certificate yet can still be very proud of themselves as they have learned so much throughout this year. I am looking forward to next sailing season and to build on the past season.”
The event also highlighted the invaluable contributions of the assistant instructors. A team of nine dedicated youngsters supported the sailing programs throughout the season. While some are leaving to study abroad, many will return next season!
As the sailing lessons take a break over the summer, children interested in sailing can look forward to the SMYC Sailing Summer Camp, running from July 2nd to August 9th. Registration for this can be found on the SMYC website.
Picture from the ceremony can be found on the SMYC website.