Four clubs in the South are RYA Champion Clubs 2013-2014 

Four southern region sailing club have had their junior and youth racing credentials rubber-stamped after being confirmed as an RYA Champion Club for 2013-2014.

Hayling Island Sailing Club, The Royal Lymington Yacht Club, Poole Yacht Club and Parkstone Yacht Club have all been considered ‘centres of excellence’ for young sailors in pursuit of future international success.  

The RYA Champion Club programme is the foundation of the RYA’s hugely-successful and productive Junior and Youth Racing Programme, and the very bedrock of the British Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Team.  

The programme recognises, promotes and invests in clubs that have continually introduced young people into sail racing and encouraged them to progress via good quality race training in a safe and fun environment.  

The four clubs have been an RYA Champion Club since the programme’s inception in the late 1990s, and is one of no fewer than 173 sailing clubs nationwide benefitting from investment, support and resources as part of the programme.  

A  number of recent success stories have graduated though the clubs’ programmes.  At Hayling Island SC  are five young sailors who are now part of the RYA National Youth Squad and who represent Great Britain at a number of international events around the world. They include James Taylor and Gemma Bird in the 420 class, Owen and Alice Masterman in the 29er class and Anthony Parke who sails a Laser Radial.  

Successes from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club include Spitfire sailors Tom Britz and James Dodd, 420 sailor Josh Voller and Laser Radial sailor Nicholas Froud.   29er sailor Christopher Brewer comes from Parkstone YC and 420 sailors Rosie and Anna Watkins and Amy Sparks from Poole YC.  

Carol Letten of the Hayling Island Sailing Club, explains the difference being an RYA Champion Club has made to them. “We have been able to develop our youth sailors by providing high quality training, exactly when it suits them, which is crucial when they start studying for exams. Seeing them develop has a great knock on effect for the up and coming juniors at the club who aspire to succeed in their own sailing.”  

Jenny Wilson of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club said “We have been able to encourage many local children to try out sailing in an RYA approved environment, have had the ability to run a large number of Youth and Junior fleets and have developed as a centre of excellence, which has produced more than our fair share of World Class and Olympic Sailors.”  

Martin Pearson of Parkstone Yacht Club said “We have a hugely popular Youth Section which caters for young sailors of all abilities.   Having Champion Club status has given us access to high quality training and coaches and helped many of our youngsters go on to achieve great things on the water.”  He added “You’ll find sailors of all ages who started messing about in boats at Parkstone and we’re really proud to have been able to give them such a good introduction to sailing.”  

Rob Kemp of Poole Yacht Club commented “The Championship club status has many benefits to all Poole YC members, an example being the investment from the RYA in terms of coaching support. This allows us to deliver high quality training to our youth and junior sailors creating generation after generation of skilled sailors. Some go onto to the highest levels of international and Olympic competition, some  follow an otherwise unseen career path and some sail just for fun, but all share a passion for sailing and life long friendships forged at the club.”  

Following a successful bid to Sport England as part of the RYA’s 2013 - 17 Whole Sport Plan, the RYA took the opportunity to review, update and refine the RYA Champion Club programme.

Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager, added: “These RYA Champion Clubs are the very foundations of our World Class performance programmes, providing great coaching, advice and support and great places for young people to have fun while learning to sail, race and developing their enthusiasm for competitive sailing.

  “They continue to be instrumental in consistently developing the next generation of Olympic and Paralympic sailors. We are indebted to the many club volunteers who form the committees, coaches and race officials and who give their time and expertise to support the next generation of sailors in the UK.”  

More information about the RYA Champion Club programme can be found here.