UKLA Chair blog #5
I have had a couple of weeks family holiday away from sailing but if the wind is good and the water level not too low, I hope to make it to Queen Mary for club racing on Sunday.
Meanwhile, it is a very busy month ILCA sailing for many of you. Today UKLA Skills week started at WPNSA with 82 boats. It is probably the largest class training event in the UK but with 11 coaches, an 8:1 coach / sailor ratio, with Olympians like Ali Young as coaches and a world class venue, it is exceptional value for money at £200-£240 for 5 days coaching. UKLA are subsidising the event to the tune of around £6,000. We can do this for our members as a result of the long-term support of the RYA and our sponsors.
August also sees over 50 GBR boats in Villamoura for the ILCA4 and ILCAU21 World Championships. Well done to all the ILCA4 sailors who have just finished and good luck to the U21 sailors this week.
Entries for the three autumn qualifiers are now open. Qualifiers is probably the wrong word as these are just high quality open meetings with a wide range of experience levels. Also, certainly for youth sailors, it is rare that there is competition for places at international events and qualification usually means attending at least one qualifier. So, if you have never attended one of these events why not come along and give it a try?
Finally, do you feel you are not heavy enough for an ILCA6? Well, UKLA are encouraging adults to race an ILCA4 is the qualifiers. As the qualifier in Hayling Island is also a masters event, we are especially encouraging master sailors in the ILCA4 fleet at that event.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events