Last chance to submit your club's results for the RYA Junior Club Championships Grand Final. Clubs have until Monday 27 July to submit results before the final leaderboard is confirmed and Grand Final invitations are issued.

It’s nearly time for the RYA Junior Club Championships Grand Final! Bringing together young teams from across the UK, the first-ever edition of this exciting new event will take place 19-20 September 2026 at Northampton Sailing Club. 

Celebrating the energy and team spirit of aspiring young sailors at clubs nationwide, the Grand Final will be a fun, competitive and sociable festival of junior racing as teams battle to take home the national title and trophy. 

Twenty club teams – two from each RYA Region and Home Country – will take part after earning their place through close-to-home qualifying events.  

With the final qualifiers having concluded in July 2026, the numbers are being crunched using the Portsmouth Yardstick portal - PYonline.com – to analyse the performance of junior sailors from participating clubs and determine who will receive a coveted invitation to the Grand Final. 

If your club hosted a qualifying event and has not yet submitted its results, please submit them to the RYA results portal by Monday 27 July to ensure your teams are included in the final standings. 

After a pilot event in Autumn 2025 was blown off by Storm Amy, with a proposed re-run in early Summer 2026 derailed by a busy competition and exam calendar, the stage is finally now set for the first champions to be crowned. 

Each club invited to the Grand Final will field a six-strong team of junior sailors aged under 16, including at least two boys and two girls, who will compete in two single-handed Toppers and two double-handed RS Fevas.  

RYA Pathway Club Manager Hannah Wilcox said: “It will be a brilliant stepping stone for sailors who may have been learning to race at their clubs and are just starting to join in with local events in their regions, providing a fantastic first experience of competing in a major end-of-season national championship. 

“It’s designed to offer an exciting and fun new racing format and the sailors from each club will be competing in turn so their team mates can cheer them on from the shore. It’s all about team spirit and community and creating the wonderful experiences, friendships and memories that come with the sport of sailing. 

“Alongside the qualifying events, the RYA Junior Club Championships gives clubs an opportunity to inspire new and developing young sailors. The goal is to make junior racing enjoyable and the beginning of a lifelong love of sailing.” 

An important ethos of the event is that it will showcase emerging young racing sailors rather than those who are already competing at a national level. While a club may qualify thanks to strong performances by its best sailors, teams will be encouraged to give their less experienced racers a chance to represent their club at the Grand Final. 

The final leaderboard will be confirmed shortly after the submission deadline, with invitations to the Grand Final issued soon afterwards. If your club still needs to submit results, make sure they're uploaded by Monday 27 July. 

Could your event be an RYA Junior Club Championship qualifier? 

The road to the 2027 Grand Final starts this August with a number of qualifying events already confirmed for the next edition!  

If you have an event and would like more information, or would like it to be considered as an RYA Junior Club Championship Qualifier, please email racing.events@rya.org.uk