Calgary Yacht Club youth members prepare to tackle the waves at Canada Summer Games sailing competition

Members of the Calgary Yacht Club practice in anticipation of the Canada Summer Games which take place in Newfoundland starting Aug. 9

The Calgary Yacht Club has five youth members who are heading for Newfoundland to compete in the Canada Summer Games.

Team members will compete against teams from other provinces in a number of events.

Team coach Eugene Dombrowsky said in an interview with CTV News that competing at the national level is a big step forward for the club.

"Its not an every year thing,“ Dombrowsky said. ”It’s a big event.

“All the boats will be measured, all the athletes tested for illegal substances – everything will be very formal so it will be a great thing for the athletes to participate because they will be exposed to the highest level of competition."

The complicating factor? For a yacht club that practices on Lake Chestermere, going to Newfoundland to sail will mean learning how to adjust to waves and currents.

“We went to B.C. a few times to sail,” said team member Samuel Meirau, “to try and train in the ocean -- and I think that’s helped a lot because we’ve been able to sail in currents.”

Meirau is in his fourth year sailing and said he’s looking forward to being out in Newfoundland water.

“I hope to have a lot of fun and experience the waves and the wind, because I’ve never really sailed in waterways with a 29er” -- a high performance, two-person sailing skiff -- ”before,” he said.

Jillian Glendinning also started sailing four years ago.

“There was a summer camp here at Calgary Yacht Club and I showed up to that and started sailing, (then) joined the race team – and haven’t stopped since," Glendinning said.

“It was mostly the community that brought me to it. Everyone is so nice. That’s the biggest part. The sailing just kind of came with it, which was fun.”

As far as representing the club at the Canada Summer Games, Glendinning says bring it on.

“It’s fun to represent Alberta and it will be cool to have a competition outside of our province,” she said. “We’ve done some other regattas outside (the province), but this one is going to be the biggest one yet.”

Dombrowsky said the best thing about sailing is that it’s both easy to learn and takes a lifetime to perfect.

“Sailing itself is not nuclear physics,” Dombrowsky said. “It’s a number of very simple skills. You just need to do some multi-tasking – you just need to do several things simultaneously."

As far as the Alberta team’s chances, he says his landlocked sailors may have their work cut out for themselves.

“They will be challenged, because Ontario and B.C. teams in sailing are very strong as well as Quebec and Nova Scotia,” he said. “So unfortunately, I must say we will be underdogs here – but we’ll do our best!”

For more about the Calgary Yacht Club, go here.