RYA Cymru Wales Welsh Zone Championships at Bala Sailing Club
by Hamish Stuart 12 Oct 2015 10:56 PDT
26-27 September 2015
North Wales sailor Callum Davidson-Guild was the star of the RYA Cymru Wales Welsh Zone Championships, held in Bala.
The Treaddur Bay/Shotwick Lake sailor won in the Optimist class of boat winning every counting race to record a perfect score of four points in the championships, a crucial stepping stone for all sailors hoping to be part of the national and regional squads. Llyn Brenig's Phoebe Roberts was top girl.
Llangorse sailor Ben Willett did almost as well in winning the Topper 5.3 fleet, with three counting wins and a second place as he held of the challenge of clubmate Oliver Vowles. Iwan Roberts, of Clywedog, won the 4.2 fleet.
Lltn Brenig's Hannah Roberts, along with crew James Guinan, won two races on their way to the General Hanidcap title, with Aidan Bell of Cardiff Bay second and Llandudno's Ewan Luke third along with crew Zac Blomeley.
Tabea Mittman and Ruby Hodgeson of Rydal Penrhos were the first Feva girls, in 10th place overall in the General Handicap.
The windsurfing category was won by Shayne Bevan of Tata Steel with two race wins out of five, Colwyn Bay Barbarians' Jake Wolgram second and Dale's Megan Boorman third and top female.
There were 173 Welsh sailors and windsurfers gathered at Bala Lake Sailing Club for the 2015 Welsh Zones Championship.
"There was some impressive racing across the board, some of the best young sailors in Wales battling it out for the Welsh Zone title," said RYA Cymru Wales national development officer Ruth Iliffe.
"Our OnBoard head coach, Ceri Roberts, was really impressed with the concentration of some of the sailors, Welsh national coaches Sarah Williams, optimist class and Paul Simes, Topper class, were out on the main fleet, while we could not have done it without the help of the volunteers.
"The furthest a volunteer had travelled to help out was 530 miles. We had over 75 volunteers helping out of the weekend - not including the club ones.
"Congratulations to Callum, Ben, Hannah, James and Shayne on their victories, they all showed great consistency in their categories and came out on top of some high quality fields.
The Zone Championships attracted over 1,025 sailors and supporters from sailing clubs across the UK, giving all the youngsters the chance to experience big regatta racing without having to travel far from their home sailing clubs.
For some, the sailors will have improved their racing skills and overall ability after venturing out onto the competitive circuit for the first time.
The Championships traditionally mark the end of the Junior racing season and are a key event for any young sailor wishing to be selected for the RYA Zone and Home Country squads, which are the first step on the pathway to Olympic Classes sailing.
Principal Race Officer, Mike Butterfield did an excellent job to complete all the races before the last start time.
Although still light, the wind came in from a more stable southerly direction and alongside another sunny, provided an enjoyable day's racing out on the water in Bala.