John Coates Statement on Bob Oatley

The President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), John Coates, has paid tribute to the late Bob Oatley for his support of the Olympic Sailing Team and Yachting Australia.

"Yachting Australia and the Australian Olympic Team are hugely indebted to Bob for his contribution to sailing and our Olympic effort" Coates said.

"His drive has paved the way for our excellent results in sailing at the 2008 Games in Beijing and again at London in 2012.

In the lead-up to Beijing, Bob put the sailing facilities at Hamilton Island at the disposal of the Australian Olympic sailing team as a training camp.

He purchased four of the world's best 470 class sailboats for the Team and he provided one of his buildings in Sydney to Yachting Australia, rent free for three years, as their headquarters. In turn, this allowed Yachting Australia to devote more funds to the athletes and their Olympic campaign.

Bob was one of eight original members of the Australian Sailing Team Patrons’ Program which provided significant funds direct to the Olympic sailors for their 2008 campaign.

For London, the Program raised over $1 million for the athletes, allowing them to compete in international regattas and spend extended periods training and familiarising themselves with the Olympic course at Weymouth in the UK.

The financial assistance provided by Bob and his colleagues resulted in our sailors winning 2 gold and a silver medal in Beijing and 3 gold and a silver medal in London to finish as the top sailing nation and record Australia’s best ever Olympic sailing result.

Bob also provided enormous support for our youth sailing programs. Many of our top sailors on the international stage today owe their start to Bob Oatley.

A keen sailor all his life, all this was a labour of love for Bob" Coates said.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only