British Youth Sailing suspends junior and youth activity

Following the new national restrictions put in place by the government on January 4, British Youth Sailing will be postponing all organised junior and youth activity until February half term at the earliest.

Although the RYA UK Youth Performance Squads and Transitional Squads qualify as elite sport, it has been decided that all organised training for these squads will be put on hold. This is to reduce travel, limit the need for overnight accommodation and to protect the training environment for the senior British Sailing Team at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

This decision will remain under constant review as we continue to try to enable our best young sailors to get afloat and develop their skills whilst supporting the national lockdown and protecting the health of all involved.

Regional Training Groups will be suspended until March 6/7. The RYA team will do its best to work with the coaches, clubs and class associations to re-arrange any lost weekends if at all possible. 

We would very much hope that many young sailors can continue to sail locally and develop their skills as part of their permitted daily exercise.

Mark Nicholls, RYA Youth Racing Manager, said “It is desperately disappointing to be suspending youth and junior activities not least as we have a high degree of confidence in the Covid security of our activities, but we feel this is the correct decision to support the national effort and to protect the NHS. It is only a small consolation that January and February are the toughest months to train in the UK as it is through hard work in the winter that the foundations for success in the summer are built.”

For those who can’t get out on the water during lockdown, the #SailFromHome project contains a wealth of online content aimed specifically at engaging with, inspiring and entertaining young sailors.

Check out the #SailFromHome playlist on the British Sailing Team YouTube channel here.

The latest RYA guidance can be found at the Covid-19 hub here.