TOP UK Laser sailor and coach Ed Wright who was recently in Bermuda giving a three-day clinic to local sailors, urged them to not just train on the water but to also put time in on other fitness activities.

"Laser sailing is very tough physically so you need to do other things as well to keep in top shape," said Wright who spends most of the year competing at various regattas around the world in order to qualify for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Wright, who is the number three ranked Laser sailor in the world, said he prefers cycling to keep in tip-top shape.

"I work so hard on my physical fitness and do a lot of cycling and I also try to get into the gym. It is a full programme and if you fall behind it will affect you."

Besides the intense sailing clinics, Wright said he gave a lecture to the Bermuda saillors on the need to keep in good physical shape.

"We had a good lecture on how I do it - what I find helpful - and how they should be doing it. There is a lot more to sailing than just natural ability - especially in a boat like the Laser which is very demanding physically. I told them that there is only so far you can get with natural talent."

It was 25-year-old Wright's first time in Bermuda and he said he would love to come back for future clinics.

"Right now I basically go from one regatta to another around the world and also fit time in for clinics. The training we had here was very successful. I think the sailors got a lot out of it and I certainly saw them improve. We were doing drills, drills and more drills. They were pretty dead after the end of the day."

Wright said that many of Bermuda's sailors go to universities in the US on athletic scholarships. "We do not have that in the UK but if you want to sail (at university) you can. It is a lot of match racing in England. I went to the Student Nationals myself and finished in second place," he said adding that he has been out of Bournemouth University for a year now.

He first heard about the opportunity of coming to Bermuda for clinics from local Laser sailor Ben Wicks who he met at the Mid-Winter Championships in Tampa, Florida this year. "We were just talking and I said I was also coaching and he asked to come down and coach in Bermuda. Then his father Mike got on the case and I managed to get down here."

Right now his priority is to qualify for the 2004 Olympics. "I am sailing full time and coaching full time now. I finished university last year and over the winter I coached youth sport in England. This year I am doing a lot more abroad. I am always training so hard for the Olympic campaign. The competition for that one spot for the Olympics is very strong and the decision will be made after the World Championships."

Mike Wicks said: "I have been running these clinics for quite a while now and it was lucky that Ben bumped into Ed at the Mid-Winters. It was a great opportunity as Ed is third in the world.

"England have over the past 20 years been building a state of the art sailing programme and Ed is a product of that programme. We had some top sailors out for the training with him - people like Malcolm Smith, Bret Wright and Ben. I know they all got a lot out of it."