The event is the RYA Regional Championship for each Zone and is aimed at sailors in local clubs under the age of 16 who are racing in the RYA pathway classes, which includes the BiC Techno board.

Bic Techno Racing: Rowena Conway

It is a great first-time event for club sailors, giving them the opportunity to get a real feel of a Championship atmosphere. It is also a key event for any young sailor wishing to be selected for the RYA Zone and Home Country squads.

Each one of the nine venues used are renowned for staging major events and will provide the young sailors with the perfect setting to develop their sailing skills and racing ability whilst under the watchful eye of the RYA High Performance Managers and coaches.

Racing takes place across the nine RYA recognised Junior dinghy and windsurfing classes including the Mirror, Optimist, Topper, RS Feva, Cadets and the windsurfers on the Bic Techno using the open 4.5, and 5.8 rigs, and the Techno 6.8s and Techno 7.8s – classes vary according to each venue.

Competitors are urged to submit their entries, together with the entry fee, online atwww.ryaracingevents.org.uk before 23 September 2012. Due to safety considerations and the size and complexity of the event, entries after this date cannot be accepted. RYA organisers are urging athletes to confirm their attendance and submit their online entry promptly to avoid disappointment.

In addition to the RYA High Performance Managers, sailors will have the chance to showcase their talents in front of Skandia Team GBR and Team Volvo for Life sailors.

Chris Atherton, RYA High Performance Manager, said: “This event is a fantastic Regional Championship and the perfect opportunity for sailors to experience what a multi-class regatta is like. It will provide an ideal platform for the sailors to learn and develop in a competitive arena as well as giving them the chance to rub shoulders with our 2012 sailing heroes.”

The 2012 RYA Volvo Zone and Home Countries Championships will be staged at the following venues:

The RYA Volvo South Zone Championships
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, Dorset

The RYA Volvo South West Zone Championships
Chew Valley Sailing Club, Bristol

The RYA Volvo South East Zone Championships
Weir Wood Sailing Club, East Sussex

The RYA Volvo East Zone Championships
Alton Water Sailing Club, Suffolk

The RYA Volvo West Zone Championships
Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club, Greater Manchester

The RYA Volvo North Zone Championships
Rutland Sailing Club, Rutland

Volvo Welsh Youth & Junior Championships
New Quay Sailing Club, Ceredigion

RYA Scotland Volvo Youth and Junior Championships Largs Sailing Club, Largs

RYANI Volvo Youth Championships and NI Schools Cup In association with McCready Sailboats
Ballyholme Yacht Club, Co Down

All sailors wishing to be considered for a National Junior Squad OR a Zone Squad place are requested to complete an online application form. This can be found atwww.ryaracingevents.org.uk by following the links to Junior Squad applications.

Check out the full video through this link http://bcove.me/vpqzcwvn

Get involved in windsurfing!

Boards caught up with coach Ian Roberts for a round up of the competition:

Techno Racing

‘This time last year we were enjoying huge success in San Francisco. A year on, and we’ve had a fantastic World Championships in Medemblik. The racing in the Techno’s was really tough all week in sweltering temperatures with breeze that shifted frequently and an unprecedented standard of sailing. Unfortunately, we were unable to bring home any top 3 places, but boy were we close! In reality, this has proved a fantastic learning experience for all involved and the future for Techno, and for Team GBR’s up and coming talents is very bright indeed. I’m really proud of the team – all British sailors showed incredible determination and dedication through the week. For many of them, the highlight was meeting Dorian and seeing his Gold medal, but I hope their learning stretches far deeper than this. We pitted our wits against some truly awesome sailors, learnt a great deal and roll on 2013.’

Full Results:

Boys U17 Gold Fleet

Boys U17 Silver Fleet

Girls U17 Gold Fleet - Emma Labourne finishes fourth, with Emma Wilson in fifth.

Girls U17 Silver Fleet

Boys U15 Gold Fleet

Boys U15 Silver Fleet

Girls U15 – Sarah Labourne finishes 9th

Techno Open.

Day Five Video:

Day Four Video:

The Brits are racing well, check out the results so far!

U17 Boys - Daniel Wilson in ninth

U17 Girls – Emma Wilson in fifth 

U15 Boys – James Hatcher in eighth

U15 Girls – Sarah Labourne in ninth

Techno Open – Ali Yates doing us proud!

Windsurfers from across the world will float to the Netherlands to race against each other, including strong British teams and coach now turned Techno293 racer, Ali Yates. Ali recently got convinced to  start racing after coaching the kids for years, we are all wishing Ali and the rest of the competitors lots of luck and we cannot wait to get a full report from the event.

Also making an appearance at the Worlds will be new Olympic gold medalist, Dorian who will be heading to his home country to inspire the new generation of competitors, WILL YOU BE THERE?

Follow all the latest from the Techno and Youth worlds here on Boards and on the event website.  

The techno 293 fleet

Saturday 31st July, and for this last competition day at the Techno 293 OD World Championships 2010 in Martigues, the wind finally decided to calm down, allowing 2 more rounds to be run in each of the 5 categories.
The favourites for honours, who had established themselves a significant lead in the previous days of big winds, took advantage of the last day to confirm their potential, meaning that in the girls competitions, Italian Marta Maggetti in the Under 15 section, and Israeli Neomi Cohen in the Under 17 section, took the top podium spots.
Meantime, in the boys competitions, where things had been very tight all week, nowhere more so than in the Under 17 class, the all-French battle between Gaël Cousin and Maxime Labat saw Cousin finally win out. They finished ahead of three racers, Mich Cheng Chun Leung from Hong Kong , Kieran Martin from England and Dutch contender Kiiran Badloe, all equal third. The Under 15 section was led home by the impressive young Russian Andrey Zagaynov , ahead of the Israeli Tomer Blum and the Italian Michel Cittadini.

The Techno 293 OD World Championships 2010 drew to its beautiful conclusion with some excellent young winners, who we may well see at the top of the Olympic rankings in the next few years. And the Techno 293 OD class itself came away boosted by a week of superb international competition, with more than 360 competitors from 4 continents attending ! An event marked by enormously increased success for Eastern and Asian countries, who look like they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.

2010 World Champions

Techno 293 Under 15 Girls: Marta Maggetti (ITA) – Under 15 Girls rankings

Techno 293 Under 15 Boys: Andrey Zagaynov (RUS) – Under 15 boys rankings

Techno 293 Under 17 Girls: Neomi Cohen (ISR) – Under 17 Girls rankings

Techno 293 Under 17 Boys: Gael Cousin (FRA) – Under 17 boys rankings

Techno 293 Open : Alexandre Navarro (FRA) – Open rankings

For more information about the event: Techno 293 Class – http://www.techno293.org/

Team15 sailor in action

This weekend (12-13 June) sees some of the country’s youngest stars in the making hit Rutland Water as the RYA UKWA National Junior Windsurfing Championships return to Whitwell for their third edition.

The Championships, which are giving more and more youngsters the opportunity to make their mark on the competitive racing scene, are for many their first major national standard event, whilst veterans of last year’s edition will be looking to get one over their closest rivals and clinch a National crown.

Racing will see competition across the 3.5m, 4.5m and 5.8m classes in both Open and Bic Techno classes during the two day event.

Masterminded by the RYA and UKWA to demonstrate to sailors a more smooth transition from grass roots club and regional level competition up into the RYA Zone and National Junior Squad race training programmes, the National Junior Windsurfing Championships span all levels of ability. Team15 (T15) sailors are able to dip their toes into the more competitive arena for the first time, alongside those already involved in RYA Squads bidding for the top silverware, all under the watchful guidance of Kirsty Bonar the Single-handed Pathway Manager.

Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager, said: “The RYA UKWA National Junior Windsurfing Championships are a fantastic event. As well as giving sailors a great introduction to RYA and UKWA competitive Windsurfing, the event also enables more experienced sailors to pit their skills against the best of their peers from all over the UK.

“Whitwell is a great venue for the event, it always has a good atmosphere and we’re very pleased to be running it there again.

“Medal-winning will feature high on many competitors agendas at the event however enjoying the venue, learning from the experienced staff and volunteers at the event, having fun and soaking up the buzz of the championships will be just as important to the sailors,” he concluded.

Gillian Wright, RYA National Windsurfing Development Officer, added: “The Championships are an open event giving every single T15 sailor the opportunity to compete at a national level, pitting their skills against a much broader range of windsurfers than they would normally race with in the T15 Inter-Club Championships.

“With the standard of racing quite a lot higher, we see the event as a next step for all those involved in T15. Presenting more of a challenge the experience will give the sailors some useful feedback on their racing technique as well as giving them a good insight into what is expected of them to make it into the Squads is that is what they are aiming for.”

In some pretty windy and wet conditions last year, Issac Bradley-Baker (Techno 3.5), Harry Davis (Techno 4.5) and Robert Griffiths (Techno 5.5) all won National titles with Harry going on to scoop second place at the RYA Zone Championships later in the year. Special awards went to Zed Spencer-Milnes (Techno 3.5) for impressive improvement over the weekend, Charlotte Seal (Techno 4.5) and Zak Brubert (5.5 Techno) who both demonstrated determination and great potential at their first ever National Championships.

For more information about the 2010 RYA National Junior Windsurfing Championships visit www.ryaracingevents.org.uk

South Zone sailors celebrating their victory with High Perfomance Manager Chris Atherton

It was the RYA’s South Zone who walked away basking in the winners glory today (9 May) as the 2010 RYA Eric Twiname Championships came to a close on Rutland Water. Following the bitter disappointment of last year’s competition, which saw them miss out on the glory after a tie-break situation, the South team clinched the overall winning Zone crown in emphatic style this time round.

On day one the Bic Techno windsurfers had a full-on day screaming round their course in the high winds and at close of play today it was the North Zone who were looking the hot contenders occupying top spots in all the fleets. Sarah Labourne, 11, winning in the 4.5s, Harry Davis, 10, is in complete control of the 5.8 class having won all his races, 14-year-old Mark Reynolds leading the 6.8s and rounding off a very successful day for the North Zone, Luke Patrick, 14, also posted bullets in all his races in the 7.8m class leading the fleet.

Day two and again the windsurfing fleets saw dominance in the 4.5m fleet from North Zone sailor Sarah Labourne, 11, who posted bullets in all but one of her races to collect the crown with fellow north Zone sailor Luke Patrick, 14, achieving three bullets in his 7.8m races to clinch his event victory.

In the 6.8s past Team15 sailor Henry Bloodworth, 11, had a great closing day posting two seconds and one first to claim his class win for the South East with South West sailor Daniel Wilson, 11, also having a great day posting back-to-back bullets knocking the North zones Saturday night 5.8m leader Harry Davis off top spot.

Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager, said: “I was particularly impressed with the tenacity of the competitors on Saturday and the quality of boat/board handling demonstrated in what were really quite breezy, and cold conditions. The sailors and coaches have obviously worked hard over the winter and I suspect the cold spell in January was the ideal preparation for Saturday! It’s been a really worthy test for the winners with all the races being fiercely contested.

“I hope the experience will prove an ideal platform for the sailors to go on and contest National Junior Squad selections throughout this season. I look forward to seeing how the sailors progress throughout this and future years,” he concluded.

John Derbyshire, RYA Racing Manager / Performance Director added: “The RYA Eric Twiname Championships are a fundamental rung in the development ladder for the young sailors, some of whom will have started at the absolute grassroots through the RYA’s OnBoard and Team15 programmes and for those who we hope will eventually go on to represent Britain as seniors at the world’s biggest Olympic Classes regattas.”

Full results and further event information can be found at the RYA Racing Events website at www.ryaracingevents.org.uk

Overall winners of the Eric Twiname Shield:

1) South

2) North

3) South West

Windsurfers:

Bic Techno 4.5

1) Sarah Labourne (club)

2) Joseph Patrick

3) Ella Milne

Winning Zone: North

Bic Techno 5.8

1) Daniel Wilson

2) Harry Davis

3) Nick Sylvester

Winning Zone: South West

Bic Techno 6.8

1) Henry Bloodworth

2) Lewis May

3) Mark Reynolds

Winning Zone: North

Bic Techno 7.8

1) Luke Patrick

2) Matthew Barton

3) Guy Dixon

Winning Zone: North

Windsurfing overall winning Zone:

1) North

2) South West

3) South