For Team Bermuda the primary objective of the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup is not all about winning but more importantly on development.The international regatta, now in its ninth year, affords the island’s Optimist sailors with an ideal opportunity to learn their trade against some of the world’s elite at this level in their own backyard.Then of course there’s the opportunity for youngsters to mingle with and pick the brains of the professional sailors competing in the Argo Group Gold Cup, which is held in conjunction with the Junior Gold Cup.“You have all these brilliant, mature sailors who are professional racers and our children plus the overseas juniors are hanging around these people and it has a kind of charisma and pulling effect to it,” said Bermuda coach Paul Doughty.“That connection is fantastic and has a major, major effect that can only benefit our junior sailors in the long term.“This is a completely unique regatta because there’s no similarity anywhere in the world.”Doughty said the Junior Gold Cup “is a very good regatta for those who are evolving and developing”.“This regatta greatly benefits up and coming sailors like Maltida Nicholls, Campbell Patton and Ben Smith and I’m sure they will gain a lot of assimilation at the end of it,” he added.Leading Bermuda’s charge this year are Antonio Bailey and Macai Joell, who could prove to be a handful in the heavier winds.“Antonio and Macai are both extremely athletic and very skilled in the boat and if it’s blowing 20 knots in the Great Sound they are going to be serious contenders,” Doughty said.The likes of Ceci Wollman, Chase Cooper and Rory Caslin can also make their presence felt in the lighter breezes.“They are very good in the lighter winds and tactically they have certainly learned a lot over the past year,” Doughty said.For some of the island’s sailors the regatta will double up as a qualifier for next year’s Optimists World Championships in New Zealand, with as many as five places going up for grabs.In all there are 16 countries being represented in this week’s Junior Gold Cup involving sailors ranging in ages from 12 to 15.Among the pre-regatta favourites are German, Swiss and Polish champion Marvin Frisch and past US and UK National champion Leonard Takahashi-Fry.Junior Gold Cup sailing gets underway today in the Great Sound, with Sunday’s final to be staged in Hamilton Harbor. Sam Stan was the top local finisher last year and third overall.