International and Olympic Sailing blog

As the curtain came down on the 2008 RYA Youth National Championships and Trials on Friday (4 April), selectors unveiled eight of the 10 RYA Team GBR sailors who will compete at the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships in Denmark this July.

No fewer than six of the selected sailors will be making their ISAF Youth Worlds debuts at the event being staged in Aahus between 10-19 July while the remaining two selected sailors are Youth Worlds ‘veterans’, having competed at last year’s Championships in Kingston, Canada.

The Peters siblings, Frances and James, from Hayling Island will lead a double 29er charge in Denmark having been selected to contest the girls and boys 29er class events respectively following their fascinating battle for overall 29er RYA Youth Nationals supremacy at Pwllheli this week.

Having finished seventh at the 29er class Worlds in January in Melbourne, James and Ed Fitzgerald (Chichester), both 15, enjoyed an almost flawless week in Pwllheli to take the overall and boys’ RYA Youth National title.
 
Frances, 17, and 18-year-old Claire Lasko (Thame, Oxfordshire) only teamed up in the 29er late last year but enjoyed an promising championships debut at the 29er class Worlds where they finished fourth Under-19 girls, before consistently impressing at Pwllheli on their way to the girls’ RYA Youth Nationals crown.

ISAF Youth Worlds selection is the cream on the top of a very sweet week for 15-year-old windsurfer Izzy Hamilton (Holsworthy, Devon) who will now line-up at her first ISAF Youth Worlds having also won the RS:X girls’ title on her Youth Nationals debut as well as being named as one of the 2008 Musto Academy Youth sailors.
 
Jacob Brubert (Stockwell), who celebrates his 18th birthday tomorrow, will challenge for the RS:X men’s crown in Arhus having gone one better than his 2007 Youth Nationals silver to also be crowned RYA Youth National champion for the first time.

Stuart Godwin (Hammersmith) will once again represent RYA Team GBR in the Laser class at Arhus, having clinched his second consecutive Youth Nationals title with a superb final day double bullet in North Wales. Godwin, 17, sailed to 12th spot at last year’s ISAF Youth Worlds in Canada.

2007 RYA Youth National champion Chloe Martin (Tonbridge, Kent) tied up her second successive Youth Worlds selection courtesy of her eighth place at March’s Laser Radial Girls Youth World Championships in New Zealand. Martin, 17, claimed ninth spot at her first Youth Worlds in Canada last summer.
 
Meanwhile it has been decided that the selection trials for the SL16 class will continue to the Carnac Eurocat event in France from 1-4 May. All three of the crews who contested the SL16 event in Pwllheli have been invited to take part in the continuing trials.

Once again RYA Team GBR will be supported by Musto while all selections are subject to the sailors meeting an agreed performance programme.
 
Ben Oakley, incoming Chairman of Selectors, said: “The standard of sailing displayed throughout this week has really been very good. The crews have had to cope with a range of conditions as well as staying focused and being called on to perform once the conditions were suitable to take to the race course.

“We are confident the sailors we have selected for RYA Team GBR will make the most of the opportunity of competing at the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships and hopefully bring home some silverware from Denmark.”

RYA Team GBR squad for 2008, Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships, Arhus, Denmark (10-19 July):
29er:
Boys: James Peters / Ed Fitzgerald
Girls: Frances Peters / Claire Lasko
RS:X:
Boys: Jacob Brubert
Girls: Izzy Hamilton
Laser Standard: Stuart Godwin
Laser Radial: Chloe Martin
SL16: Trials to be continued.