RS Fevas and the year ahead
by Bill Tucker on 2 Mar 2012
RS Feva Nationals 2011 Richard Gibbons
The RS Feva Worlds 2012 will be held at Hayling Island and it will be the first time this event has been held in the UK. As at the time of writing there are already 100 boats entered from eight countries. The class is truly humming.
Domestically there is more sailing than ever with boats popping up all over the country. It would be no surprise if more than 40 clubs were represented amongst the fleet at the nationals being held over the Jubilee weekend in Torquay. Then there is the Bolle Grand Prix Circuit supplemented by an Inland and an End of Season Championships as well as the ordinary open meetings.
Training wise the four RYA recognised and organised squads are at it throughout the winter with at the top of the tree, the National Junior Squad and then three RYA regional zone squads as well. On top of that the class run a further five squads with two National Squads (Class National and Class Intermediate) and three regional ones. There is also the series of Open Training weekends that the class run in conjunction with clubs around the country.
Internationally things just keep on getting better. The class took part in its first Euromed regatta in Malta just before Christmas to great acclaim and four Maltese boats have entered for the Worlds at HISC. The Czechs have just run their first RS Feva winter training camp at Lake Lipno. The boat stuff was all in a gymnasium and the outdoor stuff was skiing and snowboarding – the slopes start 800m from their sailing club. The Dutch are coming to the Worlds in big numbers following their superb year at home in 2011.
International training is now also on the cards with the first camp the week before Easter at l’Estartit on the Costa Brava with sailors coming from SWE, NED, GBR and ESP. The non Spanish contingent will all be using charter boats and we are lucky enough to have the services of three top UK coaches. There will also be coaches assisting from Sweden and Holland who will be cross pollinating coaching ideas. For parents and siblings there is the promise of early season sea, sun, sand and sangria – amongst other possibilities.
So all in all a great year is in store. If you want to find out anything more about the Class UK activities then please contact Debbie Darling at debbie(at)rs-association.com. If you would like to know more about the class international activities then please contact Golly Tucker at gollytucker(at)rsfeva.org.
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