End of Sailing Season 2025
Curtain on Greek Sailing with the Optimist & ILCA 4 Regional Championship of Western Greece and the Ionian Islands.
The new competition year for Greek Sailing started successfully, with the holding of the "Open Grand Slam – Regional Championship Optimist & ILCA 4 Western Greece and Ionian Islands 2026", which took place in Vonitsa from January 4 to 7
106 athletes from 11 Groups of the Region and 6 Groups outside the Region of Western Greece and the Ionian Islands participated in the games, a number that is a record number of participations to date.
Despite the unstable weather conditions and the constant changes that made it difficult for the young athletes, races were held on all three days of the championship. A total of 7 races were held in the ILCA 4 category and 6 races in the Optimist category, giving the athletes the opportunity to test themselves in a variety of conditions.
In the results, the athletes of the Vonitsa Nautical Club stood out for another year, who with their overall performance won the title of Regional Group Champion for the 7th consecutive year.
In summary, the following were distinguished in the individual categories:
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mattheopoulos Marios | I.O. Patras |
| 2nd | Argyros Leonidas | I.O. Patras |
| 3rd | Tsatsopoulos Georgios | N.A.O. Corfu |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Vasilatou Electra | N.O. Kefalonia – Ithaca |
| 2nd | Feggari Alkioni | NAO Vonitsa |
| 3rd | Baka Kyveli | N.I.O. Preveza |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Pappas Nikolaos | NAO Vonitsa |
| 2nd | Tzefrios Efstathios | NAO Vonitsa |
| 3rd | Fioris Dimitrios | NAO Vonitsa |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Pappa Eleni Iokasti | NAO Vonitsa |
| 2nd | Zarkadoula Ioanna Amaryllis | NAO Vonitsa |
| 3rd | Palioura Alexandra | N.O. North Ionian |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Balaskas Georgios | NAO Vonitsa |
| 2nd | Koutsouropoulos Filippos Angelos | I.O. Patras |
| 3rd | Doukas - Tseres Alexandros | NAO Vonitsa |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Douska Konstantina | I.O. Patras |
| 2nd | Baccarat Christina Ioanna | N.I.O. Preveza |
| 3rd | Mataraga Angeliki | I.O. Corfu |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Karabatsos Nikolaos Raphael | I.O. Corfu |
| 2nd | Pantazopoulos Demosthenes | NAO Vonitsa |
| 3rd | Papagiannopoulos Argyrios | Sailing Club of Thessaloniki |
| Place | Name | Sailing Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hatoupi Marianna | Friends of the Sea Club |
| 2nd | Sklaveniti Eleni | N.A.O. Lefkada |
| 3rd | TBC | TBC |
Special Distinctions
- Youngest athlete in the race: Livani Nafsika – Ithaca Athletic Club "The Progress"
- Optimist General Classification: Pappas Nikolaos – NAO Vonitsa
- ILCA 4 General Classification: Balaskas Georgios – NAO Vonitsa
The Nautical Club of Vonitsa participated with a total of 22 athletes, giving the opportunity to the younger sailors to increase their racing experiences and enjoy an important race, proving once again that apart from the present, the Club also has a long future. In addition to those who excelled, the following competed for NAOB: Fengari Alkyoni, Mytili Paraskevi, Dimaka Stamatina, Margelis Orestis, Prokopis Antonis, Kyritsis Sotiris, Tolis Marios, Niafa Ringina, Harba Maria-Efi at Optimist and Dimakas Giorgos, Niafas Frangiskos and Kourtis Raphael at ILCA 4.
On an organizational level, the race was also a complete success, as both the volunteers and all those who offered their services fully covered the needs of the event with consistency and professionalism, inside and outside sea. Once again, Vonitsa was flooded with young athletes, escorts and parents, giving pulse and vitality to the city.
The Nautical Club of Vonitsa warmly thanks:
- the Municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa for its acceptance to contribute to the co-organization of the race,
- the KEDA of Aktio Vonitsa and especially the Governor Mr. Michalis Vassiliou for hosting the committees,
- those who donated their boats: E. Glava, L. Saliari, A. Ferentino, G. Prokopis, N. Alafogiorgos, Ch. Sozos, I. Tefa (Cleopatra Marina), D. Tsatsopoulos (NAO Corfu),
- the Chairmen of the Struggle and Objection Committees Mr. G. Pavlidis and Mr. V. Polykandriotis, the members of the committees and all those who worked in the struggle and the suppliers for their cooperation,
- the Hellenic Sailing Federation for the trust it has shown us once again and
- Finally, special mention should be made to the volunteer friends, members and older athletes of the NAO of Vonitsa, who offered their help free of charge and contributed decisively to the successful conduct of the event.
The Regional Championship that has just ended is the first of a series of activities planned for 2026 by the Nautical Club of Vonitsa. This will be followed by races and camps with many participations and a variety of interest, culminating in this year's biggest sailing race that takes place every year in Greece, the Panhellenic Optimist U16 2026 that will take place next September.
Happy Sailing Year to everyone with health and competitiveness!