Forty eight teams of youth and junior sailors will go head-to-head this weekend (17-18 October) to battle it out for the title of 2009 RYA Eric Twiname Team Racing Champions at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford.

With entries open in the two age groups, under 16 and under 19, to teams of six sailors, the line-up of over 280 sailors spans a vast variety of abilities. For many teams the event will be their first taste of team racing and they will be sure to learn a lot.   

RYA Event Director David Campbell-James explains; “The aim of this event is to create a fun environment over the two days where young sailors can learn more about team racing. With some really great talent in the line-up the tussle for championship victory is going to be fierce, it’ll be quite an eye opener for the less experienced teams.”

The event will take on quite a different format to fleet or match racing calling on a mixture of contrasting sailing skills important in both.    

“Team racing requires sailors to work together to employ sometimes quite complex tactics to win the race and, unlike fleet racing where the focus is on crossing the line first, it is about the team effort and getting your three boats over the line in the best possible sequence of finishes.” explained Campbell-James.

“It teaches sailors really important lessons about all types of sailing, from the importance of communication to thoroughly understanding the racing rules of sailing - a great platform to improve both individually and as part of a crew,” he continued.

The weekend will be divided into three stages; ranking, league, and knock-out rounds, with over 250 separate races scheduled before the Championship-winning teams are decided.

“We’ve included as much sailing as possible for the competitors with races starting every three minutes keeping sailing going continually throughout the day – it’ll be full on but were confident we’ll get through it all as long as the weather plays ball,” Campbell-James concluded.    

In the Junior (under 16) fleet which will be racing in RS Fevas, Welsh Union 2008 Champion team will be keen to defend their title however Royal Lymington YC will be hot on their heels with their strong team made up of members who competed in this year’s Optimist World Championships. RS Feva RYA Volvo Zone champions Morgan Peach/Herbie Harford (SW zone) and Robert/Emma Loveridge (West Zone) will also be racing with their teams from Royal Torbay YC and Draycote Water/Shropshire YC eager to assert their authority.  

Sailing in Fireflies, the Youth (under 19) fleet will see some similarly tight competition with Cameron Douglas of West Kirby Warrior SC – the 2008 Youth Champions – returning with a slightly different line up, keen to make it a double win.  Entering three teams this year however, Sevenoaks School who have been historically extremely strong at the event and have produced some of the UK’s top sailors in the past, will be doing all they can to knock them off course and claim the title themselves.  

See Dinghy & Skiff images:

2009 RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing Championship teams

Ellie Williamson

Last Updated ( Thursday, 15 October 2009 )