Kieran Martin

Now 10 years later, despite being rated as one of the world’s most promising young talents and having multiple junior and youth level World medals to his name, Kieran can still recall the excitement and adventure he felt that very first time he got off and running alone.

It’s a feeling that is replicated across the country by hundreds of rookie youngsters every year and it’s the reason windsurfing is more popular and accessible than ever for kids.

“I was a bit wobbly to start with!” the 2010 Youth Olympics bronze medallist admits, “But the feeling of going alone for the first time was really good. There are so many gains you can then make really quickly; it just made me want to keep learning right from the start.”

There were almost 750 entrants nationwide in last year’s Team15 (T15) Inter-Club Championship and these are just the youngsters who wanted to take part in the racing. There were many more young windsurfers, either new to the sport or more interested in exploring freestyle and wave routes who also enjoy weekly sessions at one of over 80 T15 clubs in Britain.

Team 15 racing

There is little doubt that T15, set up by the RYA in 2001 to help make windsurfing more accessible and appealing to youngsters at a grassroots level, continues to play a massive part in opening up more doors for kids to discover a windsurfing lifestyle.

But fundamentally kids have got to want to do the sport in the first place.

So what is it about windsurfing which captures the imagination of youngsters like Kieran Martin, Izzy Hamilton, the Sills family and George Shillito, Team15 graduates who are all now doing amazing things internationally in racing, freestyle and wave.

Sam Ross is one of the country’s top windsurf instructors and a T15 coach. He says over the past two years the biggest demand he’s had has been from kids. He’s in no doubt as to why.

“For sporty kids windsurfing’s a great sport, but for non-sporty kids it’s just as great. You may think you have a nervous group to start with but within an hour they’re throwing themselves about and the confidence, fearlessness and banter just comes out of them.

“Windsurfing is one of the few sports they can be fully independent really quickly. In other sports, like rowing, dinghy sailing or team sports, you always have an instructor with you or teammates around you. But very quickly on a windsurfing board they can be up and running completely on their own. The sense of achievement is massive. You can see how happy they are, and how much they are absolutely loving it the first time they get going on their own.

“The best thing is by the end of a one hour session, they are all doing it. There is no end game when you first start; it’s not about how fast or far you can go, the achievement just comes from standing up and moving, wherever they end up on the water.”

Team 15 fun and games!

Sam backs up Kieran’s experience, that once you get going that first time there are then loads of little steps to improve really early – things like introducing a turn, changing feet position to balance better and adjusting the rig position to go upwind or downwind. Tiny steps in the great scheme of things but each one a massive motivating achievement.

Sam believes the most important thing when first introducing youngsters to the sport is not getting hung up on the right terminology but allowing them to familiarise themselves with the kit and get a feel for it all first and foremost. This includes carrying the board and sails, standing on the board and trying to balance it, then gradually drip-feeding in the names of the different parts. It’s learning through the experience rather than making it feel like school.

He believes that the developments in kit has also made a massive difference in attracting kids to, and keeping them involved in, the sport in recent years.

Sam adds: “When I first learned to windsurf 15 years ago I learned on small adult kit. I remember it being the hardest sport I’d ever tried! The only thing that kept me involved was the enthusiasm of my instructor.

“Now the kit is so much lighter and there are specific boards and sails depending on the size and experience of a child. All centres and schools have realised the value of having this kit and invested accordingly. All kids are now learning on kids’ kit. I’m blown away by the number of kids windsurfing at such an advanced level at such a young age now.”

That ‘advanced level’ can be in racing, freestyle or wave; once a youngster’s grasped the basics and developed a passion for the sport, the world’s their oyster. Windsurfing also becomes a viable career option as you can be become an Assistant Instructor at 14 and an instructor at 16, meaning you can earn pocket money doing the thing you love!

Team 15, a great place for all windsurfing youngsters

Gillian Wright is the RYA’s National Windsurfing Development Officer and a driving force behind T15 since its inception.

She says: “Team15 has always looked to ensure windsurfing skills of all descriptions are nurtured, providing children with a good foundation in the sport, allowing them to take their windsurfing in whichever direction they wanted. It’s fantastic to see the youngsters progressing from Team15 to succeed in a variety of windsurfing disciplines. Whatever they go on to do, we hope that they will continue to windsurf long after their Team15 days.”

Look at the face of any youngster stepping on to a windsurfing board for the first time this summer and you would think that here is a pretty good chance…….

For more information about Team15 and to locate your nearest local club visit www.team15.org.uk or contact the RYA 0845 345 0400.

More UK windsurfers taking top spots were Saskia Sills and Kieran Martin, who both bagged silvers at the RS:X youth worlds, click here for the full story!

Still on the competition topic, but in a very different way NWF have launched a new Facebook page and to encourage you to Like it are giving away an entry into the festival each month, read more here. 

Coming up this weekend are two huge windsurfing events. Up in Aberdovey Boardwise are running their annual Bonfire Bash with guests including Nik Baker, Ross Williams, Jem Hall and Dave White. Whilst in Weymouth freestylers unite for the first EFPT on UK waters! You can still get involved and enter for the event right here and of course follow the event for all news.

King and Queen of the Wind is on!

RS:X Squad with coach Ollie Woodcock

There were dual celebrations for Britain’s young windsurfers this weekend, with Kieran Martin and Saskia Sills both claiming podium honours at the RS:X Youth World Windsurfing Championships in Penghu, Chinese Taipei (21-27 October).

The pair earned two hard-fought silver medals for RYA Volvo Team GBR after six days of tough competition at Shili Beach, with the 16-year-old Sills also taking the Under 17 world title in addition to overall silver at the Under 19 event.

Launceston’s Sills sailed a solid series, posting either first or second places in seven of the 13 opening series races to head in the final 10-board medal race with a slender four point lead over Israel’s Neomi Cohen.

But with the Israeli sailor winning the final double-points medal race and the British sailor coming in fourth, the second step on the podium went to Sills, who’s made a rapid impact in her first season in the Youth RS:X class.

She finished third overall in the RS:X Youth European Windsurfing Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, winning the Under 17 category, and quickly followed that up with victory at her first ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland and another gold at the EUROSAF Youth Europeans to earn her nomination alongside Olympic and Paralympic medallists for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, the winners of which will be announced next Tuesday (6th November).

RS:X Action in Taiwan

Saskia’s twin sister Imogen, also competing at the Youth Worlds event, finished seventh overall and picked up bronze in the Under 17 Championship.

Meanwhile in the boy’s event, Cheadle’s Kieran Martin sealed his silver with the help of a race win in the final medal race.

In bronze medal position going in to the final day and with a six point gap to make the leap onto the next step of the podium, the 17-year-old 2012 European silver medallist Martin did precisely what was required of him, pulling off medal race victory and seeing his French rival, Martin Olmeta finish in ninth to elevate the RYA Volvo Team GBR sailor into the silver medal spot.

The event victory went to Poland’s Pawel Tarnowski, who finished ahead of Martin by just one point.

Joe Bennett also featured in the top ten spots for GBR, finishing eighth overall.

RYA Volvo Team GBR RS:X coach Oli Woodcock was pleased with his charges’ efforts.

“We’re really happy with how the event went – the guys all performed brilliantly, not only making the podium but also learning a huge amount from the week.

“It was building up to be a really high wind regatta, sort of 20-25 knots and gusting up to 50 at times in the days beforehand, which is apparently normal for this time of year!  By the time the event came around it had settled down a bit and was much more of an all-round regatta in terms of the conditions.

“Saskia’s had an awesome first season in the RS:X,” Woodcock explained. “She sailed really well this week, but just made a few too many mistakes this time to clinch the overall win.  She’s a little bit gutted to have missed out on another gold here, but she’s really mature for her age and will learn from those mistakes and come back stronger next year.  It’s a great result for Imi [Imogen] as well, who was sailing her first event as a full member of the RYA Volvo Team GBR RS:X Youth squad.

“Kieran’s had a bit of an up and down year so I’m really pleased for him that he’s been able to get a good result at these Worlds as well,” Woodcock continued.

“We did a lot of work after the ISAF Youth Worlds and the EUROSAF event, and he’d been racing really well in our pre-event training so we knew it was possible.  All credit to Kieran, he was mature and relaxed and made sure he was in the top three on the days when we had light winds, and top 10 in the planing races to put himself in the best possible position.”

For more information and for full results from the RS:X Youth World Windsurfing Championships visit the event website.

For details regarding the RYA Volvo Youth Racing programme or for further details on future regattas, click here.

BOARDS / UKWA Windsurfer of the Year 2011

BOARDS Mag once again need your help in deciding who will be the UKWA Windsurfer of the Year 2011…

The boys and girls at the UKWA have been hard at work, furiously whittling down the long list of worthy sailors who have performed exceptionally in their field over the last 12 months. It’s now down to five nominees from the five disciplines of Wave, Slalom, Speed, Freestyle and Racing.

So this is where you come in. In true reality TV style, you the windsurfing public get to decide who, out of the cream of talented sailors below who will receive the accolade of UKWA Windsurfer of the Year 2011.

The nominees for WOTY 2011 are:

Ben Proffitt

WAVE – Ben Proffitt

Ben is a larger than life character who started windsurfing at the age of nine and would have represented us in the Olympics if not for a back injury. He has gone on too much greater things now in wave sailing and a lot of hard work and training during the winter season in South Africa has obviously paid off. Ben has dominated the UK scene this year with two bullets and two 2^nd places and won the legendary Tiree event in its 25^th year.

Ant Baker

SLALOM – Ant Baker

Ant Baker has been racing slalom since he could walk; turning pro at the tender age of 16. He competed successfully in the PWA tour in waves and Slalom and was consistently in the top 10. His career since then has taken him all over the world but he has now settled back in the UK, running the Baker Academy. Ant still has what it takes in competition winning this year’s very competitive BSA – UKWA Slalom title with 3 wins out of 5 races.

Zara Davis

SPEED – Zara Davis

Zara has been our queen of speed for some time now. She holds two speed world records, and is the ranked No 1 in women’s speed in the world right now. This season however has been one of the best in her career to date. Starting with achieving a new women’s production speed record in Namibia then winning three rounds of the Euro speed tour to become the ISWC European champion for the second time. She also won Weymouth speed week for a record 6^th time as well as the women’s British GPS 2011 ladder.

Adam Sims

FREESTYLE – Adam Sims

A very popular guy on the freestyle scene, he is always friendly and approachable. The student fraternity will surely also be keen to vote for him as he attends all their events to offer help and advice. Adam has finally proved that he can compete with the top freestyle guys Bubble and Max this year by winning the UKWA 2011 Freestyle Tour with a solid performance including two event wins, two second and one third places. He also made it into third place in the NWF Night Tow in Freestyle Contest. Adam also competed in the PWA Freestyle Event in Podersdorf, Austria this year and achieved a creditable 25^th place.

Kieran Martin

Racing – Kieran Martin

Kieran is a mere 16 years old but has achieved a lot in his short career. He was under 15 European Champion and collected a bronze medal as the UK’s representative at the first ever youth Olympics. 2011 has seen Kieran make the transition to RS:X further loading his busy schedule. However despite the different techniques needed to compete on RS:X Kieran has not neglected his Techno and at the World Championships in san Francisco Kieran was once again crowned under 17 World Champion. Hastily packing away his Techno Kieran then jumped on his RS:X finishing an astounding 3rd overall in the under 19 fleet.

BOARDS / UKWA Windsurfer of the Year 2011

Your vote counts – so use it wisely at ukwindsurfing.com/woty

Only one vote per person, voting closes on the 30th December and the winner will be announced the 1st week of January 2012.

Nick Dempsey

Last weekend (15-16 October) witnessed an exciting finish to a season of domestic Olympic Classes racing as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy staged the final round of the RYA Olympic Classes National Ranking Series 2011.

The event plays an integral part for those wanting to progress up the Olympic class national ranking ladder and win grants to go on and compete at international regattas. For those more experienced sailors, including Skandia Team GBR members, the event serves the purpose of providing top class competitive racing on home waters of the 2012 Olympic Games.

For the first time in the event’s history, this weekend welcomed competitors in the Sonar, the Paralympic three-person keelboat class. In addition to the events first timers, seasoned campaigners along with some fresh faces were also in attendance.

The RSX 9.5 Series was won again by Skandia Team GBR sailor and 2012 Olympian Nick Dempsey who posted two bullets to finish one point ahead of Elliot Carney. Third place from the weekend went to Ali Masters who did enough to secure second place on the Series podium ahead of Carney.

The 16 year-old Kieran Martin, RYA Volvo National Youth Squad member and 2011 U17 Techno World Champion, made no mistake in wrapping up the RSX 8.5 Series title after finishing two points ahead of 2012 Olympian Bryony Shaw. Behind Martin and Shaw in both the weekend regatta and overall Series was Izzy Hamilton in third.

In the 49er class it was last year’s Series champions who led the charge as Skandia Team GBR’s John Pink/Rick Peacock seized three race wins to clinch weekend honours and more importantly the Series crown.

Dylan Fletcher/Alain Sign followed five points behind in second to clinch silver in both the weekend regatta and the overall series. Dave Evans/Ed Powys’ efforts of posting a fifth this weekend was enough to secure third place on the Series podium.

2011 RYA Volvo Youth National Champions Henry Lloyd Williams/Sam Batten, who have only recently stepped up into the Olympic classes, put in a strong performance to stake their claim In the 49er class by posting a credible 7^th from the weekend.

The Finn class shared the biggest turnout with the 49er class and it was 2011 European Champion Giles Scott who racked up three out of five race wins to scoop the heavyweight title as well as the RYA Olympic Classes National Ranking Series crown.

Fellow Skandia Team GBR Finn sailors Andrew Mills and Development Squad sailor Mark Andrews finished second and third respectively sealing the same fate upon the Series podium. Mark Andrews third was at the expense of seasoned sailor Jon Greenwood who had until the last race, in which he was involved in an aggressive boat on boat attack from Andrews, handed out a bit of a lesson to the younger guns on how to sail the shifty conditions.

Nic Asher/Elliot Willis, who took bronze in the 2010 event, were emphatic this time around in the men’s 470 class as they sealed the weekend honours ahead of Nick Rogers/Chris Grube as well as the overall event crown. Ben Saxton/ Richard Mason, Skandia Team GBR Development Squad sailors, finished the weekend in third. Seventh placed Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell did enough at the previous event to seal their place on the podium in third.

In the women’s 470 fleet, Penny Clark/Katrina Hughes clinched second place overall this weekend however it was not enough to land them a place on the overall Series podium having missed the previous event. The promising duo of Sophie Weguelin/Sophie Ainsworth claimed the Series crown with the help of a bullet in the opening race to finish fourth.  Hannah Mills/Saskia Clark ended the Series in second with recent Marlow Ropes Award winners Anna Burnett/Flora Stewart sealing third.

Meanwhile in the Paralympic classes, Dror Cohen/Arnon Efrati/Benni Vexler from Israel were clinical in the Sonar class counting all race wins and scooping the inaugural Sonar National Ranking Series title. The Skandia Team GBR trio of John Robertson/Hannah Stodel/Stephen Thomas kept themselves in touch with the high level fleet posting third.

Megan Pascoe took the overall title by winning four out of the six races at WPNSA in the 2.4mR fleet, in the two-person SKUD class, Alexandra Rickham/Nikki Birrell continued to dominate as they sealed the Series crown with an impressive five out of six race wins.

Barrie Edgington, RYA Olympic Development Squad Manager, commented: “We have had some great sailing conditions over the two weekends allowing the sailors to really enjoy what has been an exciting Series.

“It is always great to see a real mixture of talent from established Olympic sailors who are at the top of their sport down to some new faces who are continually looking to improve and develop their racing skills. In that sense the Olympic classes Ranking Events are unique and in classes such as the Finn having a number of the experienced old guard really adds benefit also.”

“To have a full house of classes competing this year for the first time, with the addition of the Sonar class, is fantastic and I hope that this will continue with the numbers growing each year,” concluded Edgington.

Overall Results:

RS:X 9.5

1st Nick Dempsey

2nd Ali Masters

3rd Elliot Carney

RS:X 8.5

1st Kieran Martin

2nd Bryony Shaw

3rd Izzy Hamilton

For full results from the RYA Olympic Classes National Ranking Series 2011 please visit www.ryaracingevents.org.uk

For the latest news and information from the British Sailing Team, visit www.skandiateamgbr.com or follow us on Twitter (@SkandiaTeamGBR).

Kieran Martin

RYA Volvo National Youth and Junior Squad sailors secured a treble of gold medals at the 2011 Techno 293 Windsurfing World Championships on Sunday (24 July), with Kieran Martin, Saskia Sills, and Emma Wilson all claiming world titles in San Francisco, USA.

With blue skies and bright sunshine greeting the shores of San Francisco bay across the five days of racing, it was Cheadle’s Kieran Martin in the under-17 boy’s class who claimed back to back wins on the final day, clinching him the prestigious world title.

Martin started the Championships off slow and it was RYA National Junior Squad member Adam Purcell who led the charge in the early stages of the Championships, only to then fall behind towards the business end of the regatta. Martin took advantage with consistent top end results to take Gold and event victory while Macclesfield’s Purcell finished with a hard-fought silver medal.

Martin, RYA Volvo National Youth Squad sailor, commented: “It was a tough week of racing, especially with the strong tides but I am really pleased that all my hard work has paid off and I won – It feels brilliant!

“The conditions were ideal for me as we have been doing a lot of training in the stronger breeze, although the tides made it quite tiring and it took the first few days to get to grips with.”

Martin added: “Once I got into my stride and the results started to come, that’s when i really stared to enjoy the event. My strongest competition was by far my team mate Adam who won silver, although everyone who competed was of a good standard. We both receive really good coaching from our RYA coach Oli Woodcock which I guess is why the team did so well and won so many medals.

“I’m going to take a break now for a week or so and then start training for my next event. I’m sure the experience from winning the world title at this event will add to my performance at future events,” concluded Martin.

Meanwhile in the girl’s under-17 division, Launceston’s 15-year-old Saskia Sills and her twin sister Imogen Sills, flew the flag for Great Britain as they continued the British dominance with a gold and bronze medal respectively.

The medals were once again decided in the last race of the day with intense racing all week leading up to a finale finish. RYA National Junior Squad sailor Saskia clinched the world title by finishing second behind fellow GBR and Barrow-On-Humber team mate Emma Labourne in the final race of the regatta. Labourne finished seventh overall while Noelle Finch from Clevedon finished just behind Imogen Sills in fourth.

The third and final gold medal was sealed in the Under-15 girl’s class before the final day had even begun due to an array of outstanding performances by Dorset’s Emma Wilson throughout the Championships. In the same fleet, Emily Hall from Nottingham added to the British medal haul with a well-deserved bronze medal on the final day rounding off a fantastic event for Team GBR.

Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager, commented: “All in all this is an excellent performance for the British team at this regatta, the sailors held their nerve in a notoriously tricky venue to remain consistent and come out on top at the end of what I imagine was a long, tough week of competition.

“To be on top at both under 17 and under 15 level and to have other GBR sailors on the podium as well is a remarkable achievement for British Windsurfing, and particularly pleasing.

Truswell concluded: “Credit must go to the small pool of RYA Zone and National Junior Squad Coaches who I know have worked so hard with these guys over the winter months throughout the last few years. I very much look forward to seeing how they progress – I hope once they have had a bit of down time the passion will burn even brighter for these young sailors.”

For more information about the event and for full results visit www.techno293.org

The Techno Fleet

RYA’s best young guns prove their weight at 2010 RYA UKWA National Windsurfing Championships

The RYA’s top young guns proved their weight this weekend (2-3 October) as they took on the cream of UK windsurfing talent and picked up a host of National titles at the RYA UKWA National Windsurfing Championships.

Staged at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the two-day regatta which traditionally culminates the competitive windsurfing season, saw in the region of 100 windsurfers go head-to-head battling it out for National titles in their respective classes with RYA squads sailors picking up an impressive haul.

Light southerly winds graced Weymouth Bay on Saturday allowing for a full complement of three races to take place, but Sunday brought with it more of a challenge. An unsailable 45 knot gale put paid to racing for most of the morning making a full series look highly unlikely. Given time to moderate however, the afternoon presented fantastic racing conditions, a more favourable 15-20 knot breeze making for a highly charged and exciting climax to the event.

Skegness’s Robert York, made no mistake in defending his 2009 Under 15 Techno crown finishing a comfortable five points ahead of his nearest rival Ruben Lansley, Barton-on-Humber, topping the fleet in three of his races and finishing tenth overall. Christchurch star Emma Wilson scooped the Under 15 girls’ prize beating an impressive number of Under 15 boys to finish third in class and 13^th overall.

Kieran Martin

The Techno 7.8m fleet was dominated by Cheadle’s Youth Olympic Bronze Medallist and previous Techno 6.8m World and European Champion Kieran Martin. Revelling in the wind the RYA National Junior Squad sailor won four of his five races, proving his World class skill once again, with Macclesfield sailor Adam Purcell pushing him hard picking up a win in the third race to finish second, a close three points behind Martin.

Emma Labourne

Techno 6.8m World silver medallist Emma Labourne, Barrow-on-Humber, made an impressive debut in the larger 7.8m class this weekend beating nearest rival Noelle Finch to the crown in emphatic style, losing just one race to the 16-year-old Clevedon sailor to finish up third overall.

Class honours were not the only prizes up for grabs. Barrow-on-Humber Techno 7.8m sailor Max Bushall was awarded the annual Robert Cartwright Memorial Trophy  for his performance and general attitude, progress and commitment throughout the year, personifying what windsurfing meant to late Zone Squad sailor Robert Cartwright.   The recipient of the award is selected by Robert’s family and previous winners have included Skandia Team GBR’s Richard Hamilton, Paul Sibley and Lindsey Smith.

Izzy Hamilton

Holsworthy’s RS:X Youth World Champion Izzy Hamilton again cruised to Women’s Youth National title victory at the event beating the weekend’s senior RS:X Women’s title recipient Claudia Carney, Hythe, in the standings to finish fifth overall. Carney finished eighth, with Hamilton’s West Country rival Sophie Bailey, Bude, finishing second in the Youth class just behind in ninth overall.

On form RYA Volvo National Youth Squad sailor Connor Bainbridge put in a blinding performance over the two days posting bullets in four of his races. The 17-year-old from Halifax discarded a second in race two to pick up the RS:X Youth title in impressive style. Abingdon’s Tom Squires took second nine points behind. George Bowels, 2009 youth National title holder, picked up the men’s senior crown.

“The standard of competition amongst the RYA’s National Junior Squad and the RYA Volvo National Youth Squad sailors is fantastic. There were some really close battles especially in the men’s RS:X Youth fleet and Boys Under 15 Techno class this weekend and that tightness is great for the overall standard of our sailors in the UK,” RYA Single Handed Pathway Manager, Kirsty Bonar commented.

“About seven or eight years ago we were struggling a bit for young windsurf racing talent in the UK so to have such a tight knit group of sailors performing to such a high standard constantly pushing each other like this is very exciting in terms of our future potential.”

She added: “It’s also great to see a number of the RYA’s Team15 sailors coming through at national level suggesting the grass roots initiative has really helped to inspire a new breed of young talent.”

Other victories went to UKWA chairman Bob Ingram in the Formular Veteran class, Dave Coles in the Masters and Jamie Walker in National division. And in the Raceboard class Bob’s son Jamie Ingram picked up honours in the Men’s division, Tom Naylor in the Veteran and Mark Kay piped long standing champion Robert Kent to post in the Masters class. Annette Kent successfully retained her Raceboard Masters Womens’ crown.

For more information about the event click here and to see the full results click here and follow the link to the British Open Championships.

Kieran Martin in action. Photo: SYOGOC / John Heng

RYA National Techno Squad sailor Kieran Martin has landed Britain’s first ever Youth Olympic windsurfing medal for Team GB after securing bronze in today’s (25 August) final medal race at the inaugural event, Singapore.

With just one point separating Martin, who was in third place, and Korean rival Chaneui Kim in fourth, the 15-year-old from Cheadle, Staffordshire had a battle on his hands going into this morning’s race needing to beat Kim or finish just one place behind him to make it onto the podium. But holding his nerve and sailing a fantastic last race the former under-15 World Champion pulled it right out of the bag to hold off the Korean and win the race.

He comments: “I went out their knowing I had to beat the Korean. I got a good start and just stayed with him so I could make sure I stayed ahead of him. He was pushing me for the first half of the race but the second half he dropped back a little and I was able to get quite far ahead. It was pretty close but I just did all the right stuff and it was great to come away having won.”

He continued: “I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be able to medal at such a different event. It feels really special to have won one of the first ever Youth Olympic medals and it felt amazing going up onto the podium with everyone watching you, I felt really proud.”

In winning the medal race Martin came close to knocking Hong Kong’s eventual silver medallist Chun Cheng off track finishing one point behind him. RYA National Junior Squad Coach Oli Woodcock sung his young charge’s praises.

The podium. Photo: SYOGOC / Imran Ahmad

“Today Kieran did everything I asked of him, he worked as hard as he could, he nailed his start and pretty much controlled the race as soon as he got in front. He sailed fast downwind and did everything he could to try and get up to second and he nearly did it!” he said.

“It’s been tough out here – we’ve had lots of different conditions, really light winds from about 6 knots and as well as some stronger winds coming through. It was frustrating though – lightening accompanied the strong winds which meant we couldn’t race in the guys best conditions.”

Jade Rogers. Photo: SYOGOC / Imran Ahmad

Martin’s windsurfing team mate Jade Rogers, also finished the event on a high posting her best result of the competition in the final race. She notched up a seventh to land up in eleventh place overall.

The 15-year-old also from Cheadle commented: “In my process goals I did really well this week getting good light wind starts but I was just lacking on a bit of speed – that was my main failing point really. I definitely know what I need to work on for next time.”

Meeting so many different athletes both from Great Britain and other counties as well as being part of such a large scale event, has had a sizable effect on Martin and Rogers attitudes towards their sailing careers.

Rogers continued: “Representing Team GB out here has been a great experience – being part of such a huge competition with so many other nationalities has been amazing. Peoples backgrounds are so different but we all do the same sports it’s quite strange really! Knowing I’ve actually been a real part of the event has made me feel pretty proud.”

Woodcock added: “It’s been great for Jade and Kieran to meet lots of other people in the same boat as them who have had to train just as hard and make similar sacrifices. Jade has vowed to train harder and longer after finding out how many hours some of the other athletes do!”

“I think they have come away fully motivated to train harder and it’s definitely inspired them to aim for the 2016 and more realistically 2020 games as Olympic hopefuls.”

The pair will celebrate Team GB’s achievements during the event at what promises to be a spectacular closing ceremony tomorrow before they return home to the UK on Saturday.

For more information about the games visit www.singapore2010.sg

Kieran with his medal. Photo: SYOGOC / Imran Ahmad