Teamwork makes the dream work at ET Team Racing Championships

by Anisha Walkerley on 16 Oct 2017 Some 200 sailors battled it out at the RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing Championships held at Oxford Sailing Club this weekend (14-15 October).

Team racing prowess was shown across the weekend as the 40 teams were put through their paces completing hundreds of races. It was the school teams which eventually came out on top as Norwich School were crowned Junior Champions, whilst Sevenoaks A won the Youth Championship.

An impressive 240 races were completed on Saturday for the Junior and Youth events in light but steady breeze giving sailors a chance to familiarise themselves with the boats. Sunday brought with it a slightly more breeze as sailor began to flex their hiking muscles.

With the leagues wrapping up on Sunday morning, the Junior finale racing in RS Fevas came down to Norwich School versus Falcons, a team of sailors from Hayling Island and Yorkshire Dales Sailing Clubs. In the morning’s Gold A league, Falcons became the only club to break Norwich School’s winning streak resulting in a very closely matched final.

Norwich School, with the 2016 RS Feva World Champion amongst their ranks, managed to outsmart their rivals forcing a late penalty for Sevenoaks. And it was enough to secure Junior Victory for Norwich School.

Over on the Firefly Youth Course, the semi-finals saw West Kirby Red, Winchester College, Sevenoaks A and MCS 1 fight it out for a spot in the coveted final. Eventually West Kirby Red did enough to knockout Winchester and book the berth in the final, while Sevenoaks secured the other spot.

In the Gold Final the victor is determined by the first team to win two races. With one race apiece, the Youth title went to a third race as West Kirby Red and Sevenoaks engaged in a duel. West Kirby’s reputation for home-grown team race talent remained true to form as they looked like they were going to take the win. However, on the nail-biting final beat, Sevenoaks A pulled off a stroke of genius to regroup and cross the line two, three, five to be crowned Youth champions.

Bruce Aitken from the Eric Twiname Trust commented: “It’s been a wonderful weekend of racing with great weather conditions. It’s been an excellent event with lots of happy competitors.

“For the first team this year the RYA has been offering commentary ashore as well as live coverage online. We hope this has allowed young sailors to see what Team Racing has to offer and we would love to see even more teams enter next year’s event.”

RYA ET Junior Team Racing 2017 - Overall Summary

Gold Final

Falcons 0 - 2 Norwich School

Gold Semi-Final 1

Falcons 2 - 0 Tera Sporticus

Gold Semi-Final 2

Norwich School 2 - 0 Buoys and Guls

Silver Final

Rutland Green 2 - 1 West Kirby Red

Silver Semi-Final 1

Rutland Green 2 - 0 St Swituns

Silver Semi-Final 2

Rutland Gold 1 - 2 West Kirby Red

League Results
Gold A	Team	Races Sailed	Race Wins		Silver A	Team	Races Sailed	Race Wins
1	Falcons	4	3		1	Rutland Green	4	4
2	Norwich School	4	3		2	Rutland Gold	4	2
3	Buoys and Guls	4	2		3	West Kirby Red	4	2
4	Tera Prodigy	4	1		4	Spinnaker Starboard	4	1
5	Sevenoaks School	4	1		5	Winchester College	4	1
Gold B	Team	Races Sailed	Race Wins		Silver B	Team	Races Sailed	Race Wins
1	Tera Sporticus	4	4		1	St Swithuns	4	4
2	West Kirby Blue	4	3		2	Rutland Red	4	3
3	Rutland Black	4	1		3	Cokethorpe	4	1
4	Elizabeth College	4	1		4	Team Burghfield	4	1
5	West Kirby White	4	1		5	Spinnaker Port	4	1

RYA ET Youth Team Racing 2017 - Overall Summary

Gold Final

West Kirby Red 1 - 2 Sevenoaks A

Gold Semi-Final 1

West Kirby Red 2 - 1 Winchester College

Gold Semi-Final 2

Sevenoaks A 2 - 1 MCS 1

Silver Final

Rutland Black 0 - 2 Tonbridge Black

Silver Semi-Final 1

Rutland Black 2 - 0 Ardingly College

Silver Semi-Final 2

Sevenoaks B 1 - 2 Tonbridge Black

League Results
Gold A	Team	Races Sailed	Race Wins		Silver A	Team
1	West Kirby Red	4	3		1	Rutland Black
2	Sevenoaks A	4	3		2	Sevenoaks B
3	MCS 1	4	2		3	Sherborne School
4	Rugby School	4	2		4	Tonbridge Black
5	Let's Get Nauti	4	0		5	West Oxfordshire S C A
Gold B	Team	Races Sailed	Race Wins		Silver B	Team
1	Winchester College	4	4		1	Ardingly College
2	OTRA Blue	4	3		2	MCS 2
3	RGS Guildford	4	2		3	Boost
4	Cardiff Bay Yacht Club	4	1		4	Claires Court School
5	OTRA Red	4	0		5	Elizabeth College