Irish Sailing League is launched!

British Keelboat League Qualifier at Royal Southern © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

Long overdue, the Irish Sailing League will commence in 2023, sailing in Ireland has been crying out for such a league and it is the fitting Christmas present for all sailors and clubs that is so needed.

Kenny Rumball has been working behind the scenes and is delighted to be able to formally announce the Irish Sailing League. A new concept to Ireland but not a new concept in Europe, Australia or Northern America where league sailing has been going from strength to strength.

So what is league sailing? League Sailing is Club against Club with each club being represented by a team of which each member must be a member of that club. Through a series of races, the winning team will can claim their club is the best sailing club in the country. The winning team then has the opportunity to represent their country at the sailing champions league, competing against teams from the best clubs in other countries that run a league that is affiliated with the International Sailing League Association.

League sailing has been hugely popular and successful throughout Europe and North America and can hold many answers for questions being asked about sailing in this country. Typical questions include;

How do we get more sailors to sail keelboats and yachts in Ireland?

What can we do to keep the 17-30 year olds sailing?

League Sailing breaks down lots of barriers to keelboat sailing, one of these key barriers is that to guarantee fairness and competitiveness, the boats are provided by the league.

There are other fantastic attributes to league sailing:

• Intense short sprint racing
• Fast exciting boats
• Small numbers of crew (4-5 crew per boat)
• Opportunity for multiple divisions
• Opportunity to represent Ireland Internationally
• Live tracking
• Pubic engagement & sponsorship opportunities

RS Sailing are backing the Irish Sailing League for 2023 by providing Ireland with the required 6 one design boats for the league. The RS 21 is widely used by lots of leagues in Europe including the British Keelboat League & Italian Sailing League to name a few...

Exact dates and locations are to be released very soon for the 2023 season in Ireland. The league has the opportunity to develop as it has in other countries to include a women's division and youth division which the Irish League will develop in the very near future.

Clubs will be required to nominate a team, which we hope will encourage more club level competition in the country which has been declining over a number of years.

For more information visit www.irishsailingleague.com.