Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Youth Sailing European Championship

#YouthSailing - The Notice of Race (NOR) for the 2013 EUROSAF Youth Sailing has now been released.

This marks the second occasion on which the combined classes continental championship of Europe has been organised – the first being in Aarhus, Denmark in August this year, hot on the heels of the successful ISAF Youth Worlds in Dublin Bay this summer.

Up to 200 sailors under the age of 19 from as many as 20 European countries will be competing for the accolade of European Youth Champion in Tavira, Portugal from 3-9 August 2013.

Medals will be available in each of eight different disciplines, including an open multihull event using the Sirena SL16 catamaran. Other designs of boats to be used are the Laser Radial, International 420 and 29er skiff. Windsurfing will be represented by the RS:X sailboard, as used at the Olympic Games. Each country is permitted to enter two crews in each of the disciplines.

Uniquely in terms of multi-event youth championships, the EUROSAF Youth Sailing European Championship includes medals races for the top sailors in each discipline.

In a development of the championship since Aarhus, there will also be a final race for competitors who do not qualify for the medal races. The results of these races will count towards the Nations Cup Team Trophy - currently held by Italy - which is awarded to the country with best overall results from the entire series across all disciplines.

Another new feature for 2013 will be an increase in the number of races for each class. This is being introduced as a direct result of recommendations from many of the coaches who were present in 2012.

The tendency these days is to have shorter races, so the athletes were often ashore and finished racing by early to mid-afternoon. In the 2013 event the windsurfers, multihull and skiffs will each have four races scheduled per day, while the single and double-handed classes will have three races scheduled. Racing starts on Monday 5 August and concludes on Friday 9 August.

The EUROSAF Youth Sailing European Championship will be hosted by Clube Náutico de Tavira, in association with the Federação Portuguesa de Vela and the European Sailing Federation. The host club previously organised the Portugal Youth Championship and the 420 Open European Championship, and will be the host of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in 2014.

Tavira is located on the east side of Algarve, some 30km from the International Airport in Faro, and is one of the oldest towns of Algarve.

Marco Predieri, president of EUROSAF, said: "We are delighted to be taking this prestigious event to Portugal and Tavira, after the very successful championship in Denmark in 2012.

"EUROSAF are committed to building this championship into the foremost youth sailing championship in Europe each year, and we are confident that the 2013 hosts will help us move closer to achieving this objective."

The NOR is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Youth Sailing

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award

This unique and informal competition was inaugurated in 1979, with Mitsubishi Motors becoming main sponsors in 1986. The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs. 

In making their assessment, the adjudicators take many factors into consideration. In addition to the obvious one of sailing success at local, national and international level, considerable attention is also paid to the satisfaction which members in every branch of sailing and boating feel with the way their club is run, and how effectively it meets their specific needs, while also encouraging sailing development and training.

The successful staging of events, whether local, national or international, is also a factor in making the assessment, and the adjudicators place particular emphasis on the level of effective voluntary input which the membership is ready and willing to give in support of their club's activities.

The importance of a dynamic and fruitful interaction with the local community is emphasised, and also with the relevant governmental and sporting bodies, both at local and national level. The adjudicators expect to find a genuine sense of continuity in club life and administration. Thus although the award is held in a specific year in celebration of achievements in the previous year, it is intended that it should reflect an ongoing story of success and well-planned programmes for future implementation. 

Over the years, the adjudication system has been continually refined in order to be able to make realistic comparisons between clubs of varying types and size. With the competition's expansion to include class associations and specialist national watersports bodies, the "Club of the Year" competition continues to keep pace with developing trends, while at the same time reflecting the fact that Ireland's leading sailing clubs are themselves national and global pace-setters

Irish Sailing Club of the Year Award FAQs

The purpose of the award is to highlight and honour the voluntary effort which goes into creating and maintaining the unrivalled success of Ireland's yacht and sailing clubs.

A ship's wheel engraved with the names of all the past winners.

The Sailing Club of the Year competition began in 1979.

PR consultant Sean O’Shea (a member of Clontarf Y & BC) had the idea of a trophy which would somehow honour the ordinary sailing club members, volunteers and sailing participants, who may not have personally won prizes, to feel a sense of identity and reward and special pride in their club. Initially some sort of direct inter-club contest was envisaged, but sailing journalist W M Nixon suggested that a way could be found for the comparative evaluation of the achievements and quality of clubs despite their significant differences in size and style.

The award recognises local, national & international sailing success by the winning club's members in both racing and cruising, the completion of a varied and useful sailing and social programme at the club, the fulfilling by the club of its significant and socially-aware role in the community, and the evidence of a genuine feeling among all members that the club meets their individual needs afloat and ashore.

The first club of the Year winner in 1979 was Wicklow Sailing Club.

Royal Cork Yacht Club has won the award most, seven times in all in 1987, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2015 & 2020.

The National YC has won six times, in 1981, 1985, 1993, 1996, 2012 & 2018.

Howth Yacht Club has won five times, in 1982, 1986, 1995, 2009 & 2019

Ireland is loosely divided into regions with the obviously high-achieving clubs from each area recommended through an informal nationwide panel of local sailors going into a long-list, which is then whittled down to a short-list of between three and eight clubs.

The final short-list is evaluated by an anonymous team based on experienced sailors, sailing journalists and sponsors’ representatives

From 1979 to 2020 the Sailing Club of the Year Award winners are:

  • 1979 Wicklow SC
  • 1980 Malahide YC
  • 1981 National YC
  • 1982 Howth YC
  • 1983 Royal St George YC
  • 1984 Dundalk SC
  • 1985 National YC (Sponsorship by Mitsubishi Motors began in 1985-86)
  • 1986 Howth YC
  • 1987 Royal Cork YC
  • 1988 Dublin University SC
  • 1989 Irish Cruising. Club
  • 1990 Glenans Irish SC
  • 1991 Galway Bay SC
  • 1992 Royal Cork YC
  • 1993 National YC & Cumann Badoiri Naomh Bhreannain (Dingle) (after 1993, year indicated is one in which trophy is held)
  • 1995 Howth Yacht Club
  • 1996 National Yacht Club
  • 1997 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 1998 Kinsale Yacht Club
  • 1999 Poolbeg Yacht & Boat Club
  • 2000 Royal Cork Yacht Club (in 2000, competition extended to include class associations and specialist organisations)
  • 2001 Howth Sailing Club Seventeen Footer Association
  • 2002 Galway Bay Sailing Club
  • 2003 Coiste an Asgard
  • 2004 Royal St George Yacht Club
  • 2005 Lough Derg Yacht Club
  • 2006 Royal Cork Yacht Club (Water Club of the Harbour of Cork)
  • 2007 Dublin Bay Sailing Club
  • 2008 Lough Ree YC & Shannon One Design Assoc.
  • 2009 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2010 Royal St George YC
  • 2011 Irish Cruiser Racing Association
  • 2012 National Yacht Club
  • 2013 Royal St George YC
  • 2014 Kinsale YC
  • 2015 Royal Cork Yacht Club
  • 2016 Royal Irish Yacht Club
  • 2017 Wicklow Sailing Club
  • 2018 National Yacht Club
  • 2019 Howth Yacht Club
  • 2020 Royal Cork Yacht Club

©Afloat 2020