Matthew Bugg

Matthew Bugg

Australian Paralympic sailor Bugg in 2011
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born 25 February 1981
Sport
Country Australia
Sport Sailing
Event(s) 2.4mR class
Club Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania

Matthew Bugg (born 25 February 1981) is an Australian sailor. He was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the 2.4mR class sailing event. He did not medal at the 2012 Games.

Personal

Bugg was born on 25 February 1981,[1] and is from Lindisfarne, Tasmania.[1][2] He is a paraplegic as a result of a snowboarding accident when he was twenty-three years old.[1] While attending a TAFE in Australia, he earned a Certificate III course in Commercial Cooking. As of 2012, he works as a chef.[1]

Sailing

Bugg is a sailor,[1] and is a member of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.[1][3] He is coached by Richard Scarr, who does double duty as the head coach of Tasmanian State Sailing Performance Program.[4]

Bugg started sailing in 1993.[1] He first represented Australia in 2010 at the Netherlands hosted World Cup,[1] went on to compete in Europe with others on the Paralympic team.[2] At the Hobart hosted 2010 national championship in the International 2.4 metre class, with sixteen points, Bugg came in fifth in his first time competing in the event.[2][3] In his third race in the event, his father's boat collided with his.[2] At the 2011 national championship in the International 2.4 metre class, Bugg came in first.[3][4] He claimed the title a month after turning 30.[3] His title was also the first time a non-Canberran won the International 2.4 metre class at the event.[3][4] His race competitors included his father and Peter Thompson who won gold in sailing at the 2000 Summer Paralympics.[2][5] In May 2011, he competed in sailing events in Europe,[3] with Yachting Australia footing part of the bill for his travels.[5] At the 2011 world championships at Weymouth, England, he finished fifteenth.[4] In July 2011, he was ranked fifth in the world.[4] In 2011, Sailing Tasmania honoured him with the Sailor of the Year with a Disability Award.[6]

Bugg competed in the 2012 IFDS World Championships, finishing eleventh overall in the 2.4mR fleet event following daily finishes of tenth, fifth and eighth.[1][7] It was his third time competing in the event.[7] Ahead of the 2012 Paralympic Games, he was a member sailing development squad[5] and was ranked fifth in the world.[1] He qualified for the Games in April 2012[8] and was officially selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in sailing in the single person 2.4m keelboat class.[8] He was 31 years old at the Games.[8] He did not medal at the 2012 Games. At the 2014 IFDS World Championships in Halifax, Canada, he finished fifth in 2.4mR event.[9] In November 2014, Bugg shared the Yachting Australia Sailor of the Year with a Disability award with Daniel Fitzgibbon, Liesl Tesch, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden. The Australian team of six sailors beat Great Britain by one point at the IFDS World Championship.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Matthew Bugg". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Three winners on opening day of 2.4mR Nationals — Australian Sailing News". YACHTe.com.au. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Matthew Bugg wins 2.4mR Nationals — Australian Sailing News". YACHTe.com.au. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Bugg bears down on London Sport — The Mercury — The Voice of Tasmania". The Mercury. 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Potential Paralympic sailors racing in Hobart". Sail-World.com. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  6. ↑ "Honour for hydrofoil expert Sailing — The Mercury — The Voice of Tasmania". The Mercury. 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Australians move up at IFDS World Championships - Australian Sailing News". YACHTe.com.au. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Bugg flying Tassie flag Sport — The Mercury — The Voice of Tasmania". The Mercury. 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  9. ↑ "Paralympic Champions Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch win IFDS World Championships 2014". Yachting Australia News, 25 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Stellar night for Australian sailing at Yachting Australia Awards 2014". Yachting Australia News. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.