British Youth Sailing events
All you need to know about our flagship youth and junior regattas
RYA Regional Junior Championships
10 - 11 June 2023 windsurfers | 17 - 18 June 2023 dinghies | UK
The Regional Junior Championships consist of a number of regional regattas. These regattas take place simultaneously, forming a countrywide celebration of sailing.
Thousands of children aged 6-16 descend on venues across the UK for a weekend of fun on the water. Among those who take part are some of the nation’s most promising young racers, as well as those just starting out.
Depending on experience, competitors will be split into three fleets. A fun Rookie fleet for newcomers, a coached regatta fleet for those developing their racing skills, and a championship fleet for experienced racers. Members of the British Sailing Team are often on hand at venues to talk to competitors and give them coaching tips.
The Regional Junior Championships offers an enjoyable and inclusive festival of sailing for under 16s regardless of their ability or skill.
Eric Twiname Junior Championships
TBC | TBC
Organised by the RYA in conjunction with the Eric Twiname Trust, this Championship, encourages junior sailors to race and represent their region or home country.
It takes place in the following British Youth Sailing recognised junior classes, Optimist, RS Tera, RS Feva and Topper dinghies. As well as four different rig sizes of Bic Techno windsurfer.
The first event took place in 1986 and has since seen thousands of young sailors compete, including Olympians of past and present. Sailing stars Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy were among the early winners of the regatta before achieving their Olympic greatness.
The Junior championships are named in memory of legendary sailor, author, and journalist Eric Twiname. Twiname made his name in sailing by winning numerous national titles in a range of dinghy classes. His regatta is regarded by many young racers as a rite of passage as they compete to become top-level racers.
Eric Twiname Team Racing Championships
7 - 8 October 2023 | Farmoor Resevoir
The RYA Eric Twiname Youth and Junior Team Racing Championships takes place at Farmoor Reservoir, near Oxford, every October.
Unlike conventional fleet racing regattas, this Championship sees groups of young sailors sharing RS Feva and Firefly dinghies, carrying out on-water changeovers.
One race typically lasts around ten minutes, but each team usually gets to do between six and 16 races during the regatta. There are approximately 250 races scheduled over the weekend.
Whilst being an exciting form of sailing, team racing improves your fleet racing skills, enhances boat on boat tactics, and offers a transition between fleet racing and match racing.
RYA Youth National Championships
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
The prestigious RYA Youth National Championships is the highlight of the youth racing calendar. At the event, the country’s most promising young sailors go head-to-head in a week of competitive racing.
Historically the Youth Nationals is contested in British Youth Sailing’s Recognised Classes. This includes the ILCA 6 and 7, 420, 29er, and Nacra 15 – and from 2020, kite and wind foiling classes.
The results are used to select the British Youth Sailing Team, who will represent Great Britain at international regattas. These include the Youth World Championships and the domestic youth squad for the year ahead.