Flying Fifteen 2024 Championship Series kicks off
by UK Flying Fifteen Association 3 Jun 09:25 PDT
8-9 June 2024
UK Global Flying Fifteen Nationals at the WPNSA Day 1 © Phil Jackson / Digital Sailing
This weekend sees the start of this year's hotly-anticipated Championship Series for the UK Flying Fifteen class which - crucially - will also be used to award allocated places at the 2025 World Championships to be held at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy next August.
The Flying Fifteen class has always attracted high quality sailors from across the sport to it's big events, and the prospect of UK-hosted World Championships is certain to prove an irresistible draw both to our 'home grown' talent as well as multiple champions from other classes and Olympic campaigners old and new.
The championship series itself consists of four regional championships and the class National Championship, which this year is being held at Strangford Lough YC in Northern Ireland. A full list of the championship series events is shown below, and with over 50 boats already pre-entered for this weekend's Southern Championships at Parkstone YC it looks like demand for those limited places at the World Championships will indeed be fierce.
It's important to say, however, that this series is not all about the big names battling at the front of the fleet - the battles going-on further down the fleet are equally important, and the UK Flying Fifteen Association is very keen to support the "grass roots" of the class too - the ordinary club members up-and-down the country who typically sail their 'Fifteens in handicap fleets and who would perhaps like to travel to some of the open events and championships that they read about, but feel a little intimidated by the thought of doing so.
Amongst other measures designed to encourage these club-level members the class has introduced a buddy scheme this year which will match each newcomer at an event up with a more experienced campaigner who can provide any advice or support they need.
Also, all competitors in the Championship Series are seeded into Red, Blue or Green fleets depending upon their level of experience, with trophies and prizes being presented at every level - so even if you consider yourself only an average club sailor don't let that put you off entering a Flying Fifteen Championship event this year - you'll still be racing to win!
The 2024 Flying Fifteen Championship Series consists of the following events:
- 8-9 Jun 2024 - Southern Area Championship - Parkstone Yacht Club
- 19-22 Jun 2024 - Championship of the British Isles - Strangford Lough Yacht Club
- 20-21 Jul 2024 - Inland Championship - Grafham Water Sailing Club
- 7-8 Sep 2024 - Northern Area Championship - Bassenthwaite Sailing Club
- 5-6 Oct 2024 - Scottish Championship - Loch Lomond Sailing Club
For full details of the series, including scoring system and qualification rules, please see flying15.org.uk/fixtures-and-results/championship-series-2024