Coaches
Graeme Clendenan - Profile
- NSST Regional Director -
- WVYC Sailing Director
Single Handed Coach
Double Handed Coach
Phone: 604-992-5745 (cell)
E-mail: director@northshoresailingteam.com
Graeme first tried sailing in an Optimist Dinghy at the age of 9 and hasn't looked back since. At the age of 13 he took up racing at the local Commodore's Cup in a Laser >>. When he turned 16 he bought is first boat out the money he earned instructing. Sailing a Byte out of EHYC taught him a lot about dedication. With no official race team and coach Graeme spent many hours training alone trying to master the techniques for racing. After placing 2nd in the North West Youth Circuit he joined the Royal Van race team in his first year of University. Training has always been limited due to time spent coaching and school. Now that he has finished at UBC with a Bachelors of Commerce Graeme has taken the full time position of the WVYC Sailing Director which will allow him to support his habit, sailing.
Jenn Grierson - Profile
Rep and Development Team Optimist Coach
Phone: 778-848-0430 (cell)
E-mail: jenn_grierson@telus.net
Jennifer Grierson Growing up in a family of sailors, Jenn has always been around boats. She grew up sailing on her family's keelboat, then started racing Optimists at the age of 8 on the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club team. Since then has raced Bytes, Radials and Lasers, was on the Canadian Youth Team in 2003, won the Women's Keelboat Nationals in 2004 and was 3rd at the same event in 2007.
Jenn has been coaching for 8 years and is a CYA Learning Facilitator and Evaluator, conducting instructor training clinics and evaluating new instructors. She also co-wrote the Wet Feet and Optimist courses and updated the White Sail curriculum for BC Sailing and CYA. Jenn graduated in 2008 with a Kinesiology degree from the University of Calgary. Being in a sports-related program, she understands the physiology and psychology behind training young athletes, and the importance of introducing kids to different sports at a young age.
Madelyn Jones - Profile
Development Team Optimist Coach
EHYC Head Instructor
Madelyn grew up splitting her time between on the water, and in the water. At a younger age, swimming was her focuss, but sailed regularily up at her summer cabin in Howe Sound on the family Laser, on which she taught herself the basics, and on her grandfather's keelboat. After quitting competitive swimming at the age of 14, Madelyn took raced and took lessons at EHYC from none other than Graeme Clendenan. Being labelled a "keener", Madelyn quickly took to the sport, racing in local regattas and volunteering where she could be useful. Although her path was not necessarily a conventional approach to the world of sailing, Madelyn found her way into the sailing and coaching world through openening herself up to new knowledge and new fleets, such as the Optimist.
Currently, Madelyn is studying at UBC, aiming to major in Biogeosciences. She has coached for 4 years and is the head coach of Eagle Harbour Yacht Club, and is constantly promoting racing, volunteering and coaching to the students who sail there and all the other yacht clubs in the Lower Mainland.
