Please select your home edition
Edition

RYA National Team Racing Championship 2024 at Spinnaker Sailing Club

by UK Team Racing Association 28 Mar 04:22 PDT 23-24 March 2024
RYA National Team Racing Championship © Nigel Vick

A team from Exeter University has claimed overall victory and the Prince Philip Trophy at the RYA National Team Racing Championship 2024.

Twenty-four of the best teams from the UK circuit comprising 144 sailors in total battled it out in Firefly dinghies at Spinnaker Sailing Club (23-24 March). With blustery conditions on the Saturday, a hectic 110 races were completed.

Squalls, accompanied by hail, resulted in a shift to cutdowns in the middle of the day, making for some difficult sailing as the winds eased towards the 5pm cut-off. The Sunday then had colder but sunnier conditions and a return to full sails for the completion of Stage 1, with each team having completed 10 races.

The fleet split into four leagues for Stage 2, with Elmside Neighbours, West Kirby Hawks and George Jesters finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd to qualify for the semi-finals.

Fourth-placed Southampton Green meanwhile faced a sudden death repechage against Exeter Blue, winners of the Silver League. This went to Exeter Blue with finishing positions of 1,2,5, producing a semi-finals line up of West Kirby v. George Jesters and Elmside Neighbours v. Exeter Blue.

Exeter Blue beat Elmside Neighbours 2:0 while West Kirby Hawks needed the third and deciding race against George Jesters to go through to the final on a 2:1 score.

Petit final & final

The petit final might have gone to three races, but for a black flag incident on the final beat of the second race, which saw six penalty points added to the Jester's score, giving Elmside Neighbours third place on a 2:0 scoreline.

In the final, defending title holders West Kirby Hawks had an early win against the Exeter Blue team of Ollie Meadowcroft & Katy Jenkins, Jamie Tylecote & Cally Terkelsen and Freddie Fisher & Gabby Clifton.

An impressive comeback, however, saw the team from Exeter University then taking two wins - 1,2,6 and 1,2,3 - to claim the championship and the Prince Philip Trophy.

Full results breakdown

It is the first time a university team has won the event in nearly a quarter of a century since Cambridge University took the championship in the year 2000.

Team captain Ollie Meadowcroft said: "It was an incredible final day. We came into the day down in Silver League, so by the time we got to the semis and finals, we were just really happy to be there, and I think the lack of pressure really helped us. Racing the Hawks in a final was every bit as intense as we could have imagined and we're elated to come away with the win!"

At the prize-giving competitors raised a glass in remembrance of the late Richard Thompson, stalwart of UK Team Racing.

The sell-out #rockupandrace championship was supported by the UK Team Racing Association, RYA, Spinnaker Sailing Club and kSail.

The event followed on from the previous weekend's RYA/BUSA Women's Team Racing National Championship, also hosted by Spinnaker SC and won by a young team, with Royal Hospital School claiming both the Under-19 prize and overall title.

Spinnaker SC Operations Manager James Oborne said: "The club is really happy to have hosted both these national team racing championships and we've had two great weekends of racing for more than 200 competitors across the two events.

"It's also been fantastic to have new teams competing and taking away trophies, with the next generation and some very good young sailors coming into the sport. We're looking forward to welcoming everyone back for more events in the future."

Find out more about team racing at RYA Racing.

Related Articles

Spinnaker Sailing Club Firefly Weekend
Twisted Tube random pairs team racing and final event of the Vines Series The weekend of 2nd & 3rd November saw Spinnaker Sailing Club holding their annual Firefly Weekend, two days of action packed racing. Posted on 4 Nov
Glasgow Grouse and Sheffield Shuffle Team Racing
A double-header over the weekend Both the Glasgow Grouse and the Sheffield Shuffle had the advantage of an extra hour in bed for their Sundays. Posted on 30 Oct
Irish Team Racing Championship 2024
Baltimore Sailing Club hosts 25 teams, organising 130 races over two days Baltimore Sailing Club proudly hosted the 2024 Irish Team Racing Championships, a highlight event in Ireland's team racing calendar, uniting the finest sailors from around the country for a weekend of exhilarating competition. Posted on 30 Oct
European Team Race Youth RS Aero Champs overall
Italy 2 with Alice Sussarello and Filippo Vincis triumph in Cagliari After three splendid days of variable, but mostly sunny weather and wind always between 15 and 20 knots, the third edition of the RS Aero Youth Team Race European Championship ended with an extraordinary victory for Italy 2. Posted on 28 Oct
European Team Race Youth RS Aero Champs day 2
Alice Susarello and Filippo Vincis takes the lead at the conclusion of the round robin An intense second day of the RS Aero European Youth Team Race Championship, held in the picturesque Su Siccu basin (between Luna Rossa's base and the Marina di Bonaria) in Cagliari-Italy, ended today. Posted on 26 Oct
European Team Race Youth RS Aero Champs day 1
37 matches completed out of the 66 scheduled for the round robin The first day of the European RS Aero Youth Team Race Championships in Cagliari opened with 37 matches completed out of the 66 scheduled for the round robin. Posted on 25 Oct
RS Aero Youth Team Race Championships preview
The event starts in Cagliari, Sardinia on Friday Società Canottieri Ichnusa and Lega Navale del Sulcis the FIV clubs organising the continental team event. Posted on 24 Oct
The Welsh Warmer Team Racing at Cardiff Bay
Saturday saw excellent racing in great conditions This past weekend saw the Welsh Warmer taking place at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club. This was designed as an introductory and training event for a select few teams, so only eight teams were participating. Posted on 22 Oct
Time for Teams?
Chelmarsh SC builds team racing skills and participation with new approach Team Racing has become established in the Chelmarsh SC calendar. The background idea was simple: how can we encourage new sailors to participate in racing, start to learn some rules and build a social atmosphere at the club. Posted on 14 Oct
BSDRA Midland Championship at Oxford
Sevenoaks team lift the trophy The new Team Racing season got under way with Magdalen College School hosting the BSDRA Midland Championships at Oxford SC in perfect conditions. The wind slowly built, giving the 18 teams entered great racing. Posted on 7 Oct