DORSET SCHOOL GAMES ADDS SAILING DATES TO POOLE PROGRAMME THIS WEEK 

Dozens of school children from around Dorset will be going head to head to see which school will be crowned king of the waves as part of The Dorset School Games this Week.

This Wednesday (25 June), East Dorset schoolchildren who have been learning windsurfing at the Watersports Academy in Poole will be travelling away to The OTC in Weymouth hoping that, now in it’s third year ,they can bring back silverware which has resided with Wey Valley in Weymouth the last two years.

With a record 60 children travelling from Poole to take on 40 children in Weymouth this will be the event’s biggest year.   On Thursday and Friday (26 and 27 June), the dinghy sailors will get a chance, meeting up at Poole Park Lake, to compete in the sailing events of the Dorset School Games. 

Rockley Point Watersports will be hosting the two day event on Thursday and Friday of this week. Thursday’s event is for primary school children, with around 35 youngsters expected to take part in the dinghy sailing classes, while Friday expects up to 80 secondary school pupils.   

All the children learned to sail through the Royal Yachting Association’s (RYA) Onboard Scheme, a grass roots programme which introduces sailing and windsurfing to young people aged 8 to 18, through schools, youth groups and training centres.  

Many of these youngsters have gone on to become regular sailors  and for some, this will be their eleventh time on the water. Gold and Challenge fleets will mean children competing go up against others of similar experience so that the events will be competitive but fun.  

Throughout each day of racing, there will be racing for pairs, teams and individuals, with each sailor’s or windsurfer’s result leading to an overall winning school in each event.    Each participant will have a chance to contribute their results to the overall performances for all the games - from rowing and kayaking, to table tennis and football -  that each school is taking part in, to have a chance of winning the Dorset School Games.  

For further information please contact Sam Ross, 07554 561068, or email him. 

Over a ten year period OnBoard aims to introduce a minimum of 500,000 children to sailing and windsurfing in the UK, converting over 10% of them into regular participants. So far it’s nicely on track.  

Click here for more information about how to get involved in Onboard sailing. 

 

Image shows last years Poole Grammar School boys, the 2013 winners.