Olympic Challenge
Author:
Accountancy Ireland
With only two weeks to go until the Olympics in Athens, trainee Chartered Accountant, David Burrows is into the last few days of preparation for his first race.
Ranked 14th in the world (Finn Class), David is Ireland’s leading Finn sailor and a serious medal contender in this single-hander event that places extraordinary demands on athletes both mentally and physically.
The sacrifices that are required to compete at world class level are tremendous and, without financial assistance, the price of glory can be prohibitive.
David is a member of the Assurance and Business Advisory Services team at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dublin where he specialises in Investment Management.
David counts himself fortunate to have the support and sponsorship of his firm. PwC agreed to cover the purchase of his boats and equipment and to provide him with time off in order to train full time.
“The sponsorship of my equipment is the backbone to my campaign. It relieves a huge financial burden from me and lets me put the kind of campaign together that I want to.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers was glad to help. The firm saw the potential of the sponsorship to generate goodwill amongst staff and clients as well as importantly allowing it to foster its leadership position as a forward thinking and dynamic organisation with a strong people focus.
Senior Partner, Donal O’Connor comments: “We are proud that David has been nominated to represent Ireland in the Finn sailing class at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. PwC are supporters of excellence in all we do and this achievement to compete at the pinnacle of world sport further embraces this philosophy.”
Sailing under the colours of the Malahide Yacht Club, and with the PwC logo adorning his mainsail just above the boom, David is a visual standout on the Olympic circuit and has consistently placed in the top of the ranks in preliminary trials.
His racing campaign to date has included finishing third at the Finn Gold Cup World Championships at Rio de Janeiro in February this year, receiving a bronze medal.
Asked how his preparations for Athens are going, David says: “My coaches are doing a great job of keeping things on the level and my final training has been set to get me to day one of the competition in the best possible shape.”
“The Finn racing begins on the first day of the Olympics, which is Saturday, 14 August 2004 and we race for six days with two rest days in between. It is one of the longest events in the Olympics and so the key is to keep a stable and consistent approach throughout the event”.
And are there any parallels between the sailing and his career as a Chartered Accountant?
“Sailing for the Olympics actually mirrors quite a lot of what I do in my professional career. There’s a big analytical side, a mental approach that comes out.”
PwC say David is “the ideal spokesman for the firm - a strong competitor and consummate professional known for his great discipline, dedication and commitment to the pursuit of excellence”.
The outpouring of support from David’s colleagues at home, as well as friends and supporters from around the world, has given him an added boost of confidence for Athens.
We add our support to that of David’s many well wishers and on behalf of all Accountancy Ireland’s readers we join with David’s friends and colleagues at PwC in wishing him well in his Olympic challenge.
Don’t forget to watch out for him on the tele!
Accountancy Ireland, Vol 36, No 4, August 2004