UKLA Chair blog #32
Weight jackets and mental barriers……….plus the Spring schedule
When I started sailing Lasers (a long time ago) there was only the full rig so for lighter sailors like me (back then), windy races were hard work and there were consequences. I sailed my first Irish Nationals at 16 and in the light air event, I finished in the top 10. The following year, it blew “old boots” and I raced the second half of the regatta in the silver fleet. I still remember it felt my sailing was going backwards, which is often what progress looks like. In those days we wore weight jackets (whoever thought that was a good idea?), initially 4kg ones but by the time the Laser was in 1996 Olympics, they were only 2.2 kg – still tough work though. Another consequence was the need to learn good technique for windy races especially in choppy or wavy conditions, technique that remains important today – keeping the boat at a stable angle of heel reducing the dissipation of power from the rig.
But perhaps the most important was breaking mental barriers and building mental strength. I remember the race this happened as an 18 year old. I needed a good last race to qualify for the Worlds but the wind had increased to beyond the level I was normally competitive at. I hiked harder than I ever had and with a bit of luck, got the result I needed. Barrier was broken and with that the realisation that strong winds provide the opportunity for consistent results based on boat speed in a way that light air races don’t.
Physical fitness remains at the core of ILCA sailing. No matter what level you are sailing at. The top sailors are super fit athletes but even at Masters level I like to use upcoming events as a reason to do physical training – in fact I need that motivation to sustain fitness work, rather than fitness for its own sake, beneficial though it might be.
While technique, mental strength and fitness are all important, today of course we have a choice of rigs allowing sailors to be competitive across a range of weights. The ILCA4, while no one would say it is the most elegant of boats, provides great racing. UKLA has 7 Nationals events each year in the ILCA4 as an open class – that means we don’t have any age limit in the ILCA4 in the UK. I would personally encourage sailors who aren’t heavy enough for an ILCA6 to stay in the ILCA4 for the quality of racing. Those up to 18 can also go abroad and sail in the Europeans and Worlds. I know we don’t yet have an ILCA4 fleet at our Masters events and this is something I would like to address. I have said before that the ILCA6 is perhaps the most competitive dinghy class racing in the UK so why migrate from the ILCA6 to the ILCA7 if you aren’t heavy enough.
Snippets:
As the spring season gets well and truly underway, I would remind you we have two National open meetings at WPNSA in the following weekends - the first of those closes tonight – there will be a meal afterwards with the rugby on and the first Masters event of the year in Parkstone in April. Here is the calendar
UKLA Chair blog #31
First UKLA event of the year and Calling all Masters
First UKLA event of the year and Calling all Masters
On Thursday morning, things didn’t look great for the first Qualifier of the year in Stokes Bay with a rather light but cold, northerly, offshore wind forecast. As it turned out, we had fine weekend with the Race Committee doing an excellent job getting most of the racing done in the shifty conditions and when the sun came out for a few minutes on Sunday, it was positively balmy (Ok a slight exaggeration but I, for one, expected it to be colder). The SBSC volunteers did a great job getting us in and out, so thanks to all of them.
It is worth emphasising once again that these events are high quality open meetings organised by UKLA. They are termed “qualifiers” as they are used for access to international events but most sailors are attending to get great racing, not to qualify. That is why we welcome a board range of sailing experience at these events.
And I was once again amazed at the range in our fleet and how well everyone gels. The ILCA7 fleet has continued attract some younger sailors moving up from the ILCA6 creating a new vibrancy, with the opportunity to sail against Sam Whaley (British Sailing Team and World #3) and Jake Farren-Price (British Sailing Squad). There were sailors competing in their first ILCA7 event and there was sprinkling of Masters with Michael Clark, Andy Le Grice and David Surkov all getting at least one top 10 finish. With the experienced Daisy Collingridge, Matilda Nicholls and Hannah Snellgrove of the British Sailing Team all away training, the ILCA6 fleet had an age range of over 50 years and the top ten had two U17s, two U19s and three Masters.
The light winds made some of the mark rounding quite competitive but behaviour seemed to be mostly fine (remember aggressive shouting is not allowed) and with lots of helping each other in launching and recovery.
Calling all masters – the first Masters event of the year will be at Parkstone on 21st/22nd April - it is a great venue both ashore and afloat with entries opening on 7th March. Come and give it a go - remember Masters sailing is open and accessible to all competent club sailors over the age of 30.
Snippets:
This week’s podcast is Hannah Snellgrove
Entries are the two WPNSA qualifiers are open
UKLA Chair blog #30
#1 in world, UKLA finances, more volunteers and behaviour
Lots to talk about this week…
#1 in World
#2 A snapshot on UKLA finances
#3 Three volunteers wanted?
#4 Behaviour at our events
It has taken 30 blogs for me to mention individual performances and results, but I must make an exception this week. Micky Beckett is #1 in the single-handed (ILCA7) World rankings. What an achievement! And he is joined by Elliot Hanson and Sam Whaley in #2 and #3! It is super for UKLA members to have the opportunity to race against the best in the world on a regular basis on home waters. Of course, a couple of weeks ago, we had Daisy and Matilda, two of the top women sailors in the world, give their insights in our virtual training. We are lucky that all members of the British Sailing Team in the ILCA6 and ILCA7 give back so much to us.
With the UKLA 2022 finances almost finalised, I wanted to share a couple of comments with you. Across all our events and training, we had a deficit of almost £20,000. That means we took in £20,000 less income than costs for our regattas and training (with including support for club training and Super Grands Prix), ensuring we provided the best possible value to members. Our treasurer, Steve Taylor (many thanks), calls this an investment in our sport and I think he is right.
In addition to this, we had direct costs in running UKLA covered by income from member subscriptions, our sponsor Noble Marine and grant support from the RYA. Overall, that meant we had a deficit for the year of about £10,000. This was only possible due to the surplus we made during two years of Covid. In 2023 we plan to run a smaller deficit, but we will still run our events and training at a discount to full costs and we will be doing our best to contain costs in a difficult environment.
One of the reasons that we can provide excellent value to our members is the amount of time volunteers give to UKLA. We are now looking to fill three roles:
Team-racing co-ordinator - As part of series being organised by the European class, UKLA is considering running a one-day team racing event at Datchet in June. It would be 4 boat team racing in ILCA6s with a mixed 2 person team, probably restricted to 24 teams, bringing their own boats. To get this off the ground, we are looking for lead volunteer.
Virtual training administrator – following the success of virtual winter training, we would like to run several more sessions before the summer. We will provide the hosts but we need a volunteer to setup the Zoom meetings, prepare email communications with members and then upload the video. It is probably 3 hours work per session and you would need to be somewhat tech savvy.
Masters sub-committee – Alison Stevens is retiring for the committee in the summer after much tireless work (again many thanks). To make the role manageable, we hope to set-up a sub-committee where the role can be shared out. Let us know if you would like to be involved.
Contact-Chair — UKLA (ilca.uk) if interested.
Finally, you will remember we had a focus in the autumn on behaviour at our events, so at the start of the season we are publishing our Misconduct policy. Many thanks to those that have helped in preparing it, and I hope to cover in more detail when there is more space but here is the preamble.
UKLA members want our class to be a welcoming place for all involved with UKLA events, no matter their age or level of experience. We want to encourage a culture where we can all enjoy the sport and display sportsmanship on and off the water. We should show each other respect. Happily, misconduct at UKLA events is rare. But examples have arisen. UKLA hopes, by publicising the expected standards of behaviour and the applicable rules, to further improve standards of behaviour in relation to our events and in our sport more widely.
Snippets:
2023 UKLA coaching days across the country applications are open until 31st March. Read more
Today is last day to enter for the Stokes Bay qualifier
Featured podcast of week is top UKLA coach James Hadden
UKLA Chair blog #29
10 Great things to do in your ILCA
10 Great Things to do in your ILCA
The range of activities involving ILCAs is massive and today I would like to give you some ideas. Sorry but you won’t be able to do all of them
As spring approaches, sign up for club racing but firstly get some tips from our experts in our virtual winter education/training programme – Tim Hulse on Setting up your ILCA for performance and Daisy Collingridge and Matilda Nicholls (British Sailing Team) on ILCA technique for upwind / downwind in light air and heavy air
Hear from European ILCA7 Champion Micky Beckett in our final session on Wed 22nd February 7:30pm - Getting your racing tactics right Register and join here
Sixteen GBR sailors are heading to the ILCA4 Youth Europeans in Cadiz in April which will be a great experience. During the summer there are also the ILCA4 Youth Worlds and ILCA6 Youth European and Worlds, all in Europe. Remember there are usually more than enough GBR places available for these events
There were 20 Legends (over 75s) sailing in the ILCA6 Masters in Thailand including four GBR sailors – time launch your campaign?
Come and have a go at UKLA Masters Nationals in Hayling Island on 30th June to 2nd July – all welcome!
Aim to do at least two Grands Prix in your region – they are now in our UKLA calendar
Mark in your calendar the 2023 UKLA Open and Nationals Championships in Hayling Island 20th to 25th August – it is a festival of ILCA sailing - great racing, great venue and great off-water activities!
Race your ILCA at Keil Week – a world class regatta at the iconic venue of the 1972 Olympics
Buy something ILCA related from one of our sponsors like a Wildwind holiday
Aspire to win an Olympic Gold medal in either the ILCA6 or ILCA7 or anything else along our pathway with lots of club racing, regional Grands Prix, UKLA training and events and many internationals events. You choose your aspiration!
Finally some sad news about the passing of Brigid Hurn. This from Nigel Vick who was heavily involved in UKLA for many years. “Brigid was Laser newsletter editor during the 1980’s and regularly attended and dealt with administration at Laser Qualifiers. At that time she was “Mother Laser”.” UKLA, on behalf of our members, would like to pass on our condolences to her family and friends and acknowledge her great volunteer work for the Laser family.
UKLA Chair blog #28
Patience while we grow…..
The ILCA class in the UK is vibrant and growing at all levels from the British Sailing Team to club activities, from young teenagers to Legends (over 75s). UKLA have launched several new initiatives in recent months:
UKLA virtual winter training – we have run two sessions so far with the first video having over 1,400 views. The second session last Wednesday had 250 registrations and the video has been viewed over 740 times in less than four days
Our Female Participation Survey is underway (we will close it on Wednesday) with over 100 responses to date
Our National Training started in Oct to complement Regional training and it has been very successful.
You will see our published strategy on the ilca.uk website. We are working hard to ensure you have the information you need - hopefully it is easier to find it on the website as well. Thank you to those who have been coming forward to volunteer. UKLA is now at a size where many roles are too big for one person and we are working through how to manage that.
But with the growth comes pain. Our policies are made with the best interests of the class as a whole but invariably not everyone is going to agree with everything – that just the way it is as we get bigger. We will always look for input on changing polices but that doesn’t mean we adopt all input.
UKLA is a member organisation that exists to support our members and is run by a volunteer committee and our class secretary Ellie who works part-time. Ellie and the rest of us are all working incredibly hard to support members, but at certain times of the year are very busy – in February and March we have eight continuous weekends of activity – three qualifiers, four weekends of UKLA training and the Dinghy Show. Hopefully we are getting most of it right, but we are going to make the odd mistake and responses time will be slower, so please be patient with us as we cope with all with extra demand.
Snippets:
Session #2 Virtual winter education/training programme for ILCA club/master sailing with Daisy Collingridge and Matilda Nicholls (British Sailing Team) - ILCA technique for upwind / downwind in light air and heavy air
Here is a reminder about the Female Participation survey
Featured podcast of week is Tim Hulse, UKLA Training Officer
UKLA Chair blog #27
We are opening entry for the upcoming three Spring Qualifiers on Tuesday 7th Feb at 7pm. There is a message below from Brett Lewis, our Safety Officer and some comments from me on the entry fees. Please remember the term Qualifier is a bit of a hangover - they are high quality open meetings!
Brett says:
“If you have ever wanted to make a difference, now is the time to consider how you can support our amazing sailors and our amazing class.
UKLA has a unique position, we are a class not a club, we do not have a club house or have or any tangible assets. But as a class we are bigger than most of the UK clubs. Our major events attract more sailors than even the biggest UK clubs and our training events successfully attract hundreds of sailors monthly.
None of this would happen without the amazing teamwork, skill, and determination of volunteers. Sailing, like many sports is a volunteer run, volunteer organised and volunteer governed sport.
None of this would happen without volunteers.
For us to provide safe racing at each of our major events, every day we require a team of at least 60 volunteers. We require everything from the beach and tally team, the race management team, the safety team, the prize giving team and the event admin team. Very few other classes or clubs require this amount of event resource to safely run our racing events.
Our on-water safety team operates on a policy of 12:1, that is for every 12 sailors on the water, they require at least one crewed safety rib. For the Stokes bay Qualifier, we will need at least 10 ribs and crews, and for the WPNSA Qualifiers we will require 16 ribs and crews.
The on-water team that supports the racing is made up of the Race Committee, the Mark Layers, the Safety team and the Jury team. On the shoreside we have the Tally, Beach, Bridge, Results, Prize and Admin team.
Below we are asking for the volunteer support for our three Spring Qualifiers series, so if you are new to the class or have considered how you can offer support and would like to talk to us, please get in touch with Brett for on water support or Keith for Race Committee. We are particularly keen to speak to members who feel they want to offer support but do think they may yet not have the necessary experience.
If you're passionate about sailing and wish to contribute to the success of our UKLA sailors and want to give back to your community, then volunteering is the perfect opportunity for you. We can offer training, advice, mentoring and support for Mark Layers, the Safety team and the Race Committee.”
I wanted to add some comments on entry fees. In 2022 UKLA subsidised entry fees for the Qualifiers with those fees around 5% lower than the costs of running the events. UKLA was able to do this because of the support of our sponsors and good control over our operating costs. I believe this resulted in great value for our sailors.
Like most organisations we are seeing significant increases in our costs, particularly those charged by host venues and the costs of providing appropriate safety cover. In the past, the class relied on parents bringing RIBs without them being fully compensated for their costs, which we felt was unfair and unsustainable and could have resulted in us not having enough safety cover to run an event.
Although we will continue to subsidise entry fees (we plan to continue to set entry fees below the cost of running the events in 2023), these increases are too significant for us to absorb. We therefore agreed to increase our entry fees. We will be working to see if these increases can be reduced later in 2023. As a committee we fully understand the impact and also realise this is just one element of the cost of a weekend.
Snippets:
Session #2 Virtual winter education/training programme for ILCA club/master sailors – register here
Here is a reminder about the Female Participation survey
Featured podcast of week are Daisy Collingridge and Matilda Nicholls
UKLA Chair blog #26
Female participation in ILCAs and survey
In my early years of ILCA/ Laser sailing in the eighties, there was only one rig – the standard or ILCA7 and that didn’t give much opportunity for female participation. Well, things have improved since then, but there is still a lot more to do done.
The ILCA6 has been the women’s single-handed boat in the Olympics for four cycles starting in Beijing 2008. As it happened with the ILCA7, the competition gets tougher each cycle, as many of the earlier campaigners stay involved in subsequent cycles as can be seen with some of the top female sailors now. The ILCA6 is (arguably) the most competitive dinghy class in the UK, being the popular single-handed boat for youths, mixing it with our top women sailors and experienced masters. But the numbers of women competing are just not enough.
Also, in the ILCA4 we have a highly competitive class with more girls competing and a smaller rig opening the opportunity to a wider group of sailors. With seven UKLA National weekend events during the season, the National Championship during the summer and the opportunity to compete abroad (there were 132 entries in the 2022 ILCA4 Youth Europeans in the girls fleet), surely we should be aspiring to having equal numbers of boys and girls in this fleet?
So today UKLA are launching a survey on female participation in the ILCA as part of our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity strategy. We are interested in understanding whether there is more that we can do to increase female participation in ILCA 4 and 6. This survey is mainly aimed at female sailors, but if you are a male and have a view on this subject, we welcome your input. Here is the survey
Snippets:
Featured podcast of week is Ali Young
Virtual winter education / training programme for ILCA club / master sailors - session #1 recording
There are still places available at Open Training North Carsington SC 11-12th February 2023 (closing on 31st January)
UKLA is seeking a sustainability volunteer to work with UKLA and Euricla. For more information or to express an interest, please contact Ellie.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #25
Are you a class act? Encouraging the right behaviour in our youth sailors
Are you a class act?
I am sure many of us see elite athletes and coaches and are in awe of their ability and achievements. But we don’t always consider them to be class acts. It is something I have often wondered about it. In our sport how important is it for a sailor or coach to be a class act?
First, what does it mean? Someone who is a class act displays principles, kindness, respect towards others and in sport towards their competitors and opposition. They seem to have a strong moral compass. While they may be super confident, they show humility and aren’t arrogant or disrespectful with their success. You can see why it is appealing.
But do elite competitors need to be a class act? That’s harder to answer but possibly not. Cristiano Ronaldo has clearly been one of the world’s top players but was demoted to the bench when playing for Portugal in the World Cup after showing a poor attitude / disrespect to the manager when being substituted in the prior game. After losing to Morocco in the quarter finals, instead of congratulating the African team, he headed straight off the pitch without so much as a handshake – not much respect there. Of course, we only see Ronaldo through a media lens, so it is hard to judge, but the optics don’t look great. Same is true of Eddie Jones, former England rugby manager or Jose Mourinho, a renowned football manager, both brilliant coaches but always ready to take a dig at the opposition. It may have helped their teams, but not a good look. Then again there was Sir Thomas Lipton who challenged for the America’s Cup five times – he was considered the world’s greatest sportsman for his consistent respect for his competitor and host and because of these attributes, in his later challenges most of America wanted him to win over their countrymen – he never did!
So while being a class act may not a pre-requisite for success or indeed guarantee success, but we would like our sailors to act as one – they are better role models, likeable and something we can aspire to. So we should encourage this behaviour surely. It is something to teach young sailors as they get some success – humility, kindness, and respect to the competition. We can learn to be fierce competitors on the water but still show respect both on the water and ashore. I am sure I wasn’t an angel as a younger sailor but I have got wiser with age. I think we should encourage our younger sailors to strive to be both brilliant sailors and class acts – people will look up to them even more.
UKLA Chair blog #24
The season ahead………..Upcoming UKLA National events
Looking to kick-off my 2023 sailing at Queen Mary, I checked the forecast Sunday morning racing, and it looked cold and windy. But my perseverance, and those of the 20 other ILCAs, were rewarded with two exhilarating races in 15 to 20 knots where I could still feel my hands and feet throughout! I am sure many of you are looking at 2023 too, so I wanted to mention UKLA schedule.
After the RYA Dinghy Show in late February, we have three qualifiers in March, one at Stokes Bay and the other two at WPNA. These are of course really high quality open meetings and most are attending for the racing, rather than qualifying for anything. In fact, readers of this blog will know than qualification for internationals events is hardly ever needed anyway. As well as the Masters events mentioned last week, we have our National Championship back in Hayling Island in August and four more open meetings in the autumn – one in Paignton, two at WPNSA and one at Draycote.
We did say that we wanted more events away from the South coast but this has proved difficult so far. We have approached many venues, and few are able to take 200 boats and some of those that can have no availability. If you know a club that can take us in 2024 or 2025 please let us know. We of course already know the possible venues, so we are really looking for input if you know a club that could actually host us.
You will also notice that the Stokes Bay qualifier doesn’t include ILCA4s. This partly because Stokes Bay could not host all of us and partly because close to 50 ILCA4s are involved in RYA RTG training that weekend. We have been trying to schedule a Youth event during the winter but have not been able to find an available weekend for the ILCA4s given the amount of training they have (UKLA open / National and RYA RTG) - a lesson learnt for next winter. However we are in the final stages of getting a Youth event for late June (details soon hopefully). I understand also that the ILCA4s will be included in three venues for the RYA Regional Junior Championships in June and the RYA Eric Twiname event (usually in early May and open to RTG sailors).
Over the next month or two, you will also see many Grands Prix appear in the calendar.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #23
Calling all Masters sailors………..
Some years ago, the North America Laser Class (as it was then) ran some adverts…*.
It is okay to be 59 when you feel like you’re 39 – become an ILCA Master
Hot competition, cold beer - become an ILCA Master
It’s not who you beat, it’s who you meet - become an ILCA Master
Live life to the fullest - become an ILCA Master
Remember when life was simple? It can be again - become an ILCA Master
Whoever dies with the most toys, never won a master regatta. Simple is good - become an ILCA Master
*(Courtesy of Rupert Bedell)
As you start to think of the season ahead, think beyond to 2025 when the European Masters Championships will be sailed at Hayling Island Sailing Club. This is not Olympic level competition but accessible racing for any competent club sailor. Whether you aspire to this or not, UKLA has a programme of activities in 2023 to get you going.
We start later this month with UKLA led virtual winter education / training programme for ILCA club / master sailors. Open to everyone (including non-members) but focussed on ILCA sailors who want to improve their own club sailing and/or could be tempted to attend a masters event. It kicks off with coaching guru Tim Hulse and features some of the top sailors in the world. More details later this week.
#1 - Wed 25th Jan Tim Hulse (UKLA Training officer) - Setting up your ILCA for performance
#2 Wed 8th Feb Daisy Collingridge and Matilda Nicholls (British Sailing Team) - ILCA technique for upwind / downwind in light air and heavy air
#3 Wed 22nd Feb Micky Beckett (British sailing Team) - Getting your racing tactics right
Moving on from this, Alison Stevens, our Master rep, has organised three great venues for 2023 – our Spring Open meeting on 22nd/23rd April at Parkstone Yacht Club, our Masters Nationals on 30th June/2nd July at Hayling Island and our Autumn Open meeting at Grafham Water on 28th/29th Oct. These events are run in the spirit of master sailing as described at the beginning and are open to all. We also hope to run another virtual session in late March hosted by Guy Noble to help you get ready for the first event.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #22
Since Mark is away this week, you get a message from UKLA Class Secretary - Ellie
Happy New Year to you all!
This is just a short message to welcome you all into 2023! I hope you are excited about the upcoming year.
With the new year comes the new membership year and earlier today we invited you to renew your membership. We would also like to encourage the non-members receivers of this blog to join our class. Not only you can participate in the excellent training programme continuing throughout the winter months in preparation for the racing season, but also world class racing events, competitive and fun grand prix circuit and super grand prix events. There is something for everyone, not to mention that UKLA members get up to 12.5% discount with Noble Marine and 10% off spars online with Sailingfast.
Reminder: Winter training bookings are being released at 6pm today.
Check out the Training calendar
All the best
Ellie
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #21
Christmas in Perth
In autumn 1994 I had given up my job to sail full-time to try and get to the Olympics and spent 4 weeks in December at a training camp in Israel with amongst others the current GBR coach Chris Gowers. It was an intensive camp not least because we spent most of that time on a kibbutz with little outside contact. And so it was a nice relief to fly home for Christmas in Dublin.
The following year, having never been away for Christmas, a group of us flew to Perth for the Australian Nationals on the Swan River, which started this day 27 years ago, and was preceded by my first (and so far only) sail on Christmas Day, and then on to the Asia Pacific Championships next door in Fremantle. What a great place to sail in glorious sunshine and the famous Fremantle Doctor (sea breeze), remembered by many for the 1987 America’s Cup.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and hoping some of you have had a sail over Christmas.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #20
As we draw to the end of the year, we can reflect on a busy and successful year for UKLA. Our membership is hovering around 1,000. At our events we had around 1,500 entries, an increase of 31%, and 135 races. Skills Week was oversubscribed, and we did around 2,000 sailor training days. We launched our club training programme and saw over 100 individual sailors competing aboard. I say all this, not as a comprehensive review of 2022, but to indicate the scale of our activities when you consider we are just an association of members run with one part-time class secretary and many volunteers - I think it is quite impressive. And that context is important when thinking of and interacting with UKLA – it is your association and often you are just dealing with other members as volunteers.
I would like to call out some of those that make this work and I apologise in advance for not covering everyone. We get super support from our volunteers at events, both on and off the water, so thank you for that. Many of you are serial volunteers and events would not work without you. Thank you also to those who have taken on initiatives, often working quietly in the background. And of course, thanks to our coaches that deliver such quality training.
Ellie Ratusniak is the UKLA Secretary who works very hard to support all of us. She is committed and competent. Thank you so much Ellie.
On the committee we have:
Ben Nicholls – Vice Chair and Youth Rep
Tim Hulse – Training Officer
Keith Videlo – Sailing Secretary
Steve Taylor – Treasurer
Guy Noble – Media and Sponsorship
Alan Davis – Measurer
Tony Woods – Nationals Co-ordinator
Gary Finkelstein – Governance
Brett Lewis – Safety Officer
Richard Mason – Grand Prix Co-ordinator
Also on the committee as Reps:
ILCA4 – Pamela Cross
ILCA6 – Jane Sunderland
ILCA7 – Same Whaley
Thank you all for your hard work this year. I would also like to thank Tim Hall from the RYA for all his support this year.
The amount of training this year has increased dramatically (with a lot of new process to bed in) and would not have been possible without the support of Lisa Anderson, Jo Sinclair and Lorna Phipps helping Ellie and Tim.
Paul Jackson has been PRO at many of our events but has also provided stalwart support to Keith. Also, there would be no results without our scorer Nik James, who doubles up as our EDI (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) Champion.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #19
International events – something for you?
At this time of year many of you are considering racing your ILCA internationally next season, so it may be a good time to reflect on this. I fully appreciate though that this is not for everyone as it is expensive and time consuming but last year over 100 GBR sailors raced outside the UK so there is considerable interest.
The great thing about the ILCA is the number of international events across the age groups and rigs. There are European and World Youth Championships in the ILCA4 and ILCA6 as well as U21 Championships for the ILCA6 and ILCA7. There are also European and World Masters for ILCA6 and ILCA7 with age categories from 30 to over 75. And of course, there is the ultra-competitive Senior circuit featuring the Olympic contenders with Europeans and Worlds but also the classic top grade early summer events in Hyeres, on the Ijsselmeer in Holland and Kiel Week. In Europe there is a Euro Masters series and the iconic Europa cup events. You will find events in most countries and in all regions around the World.
The standard at these events varies a lot. Masters events are accessible to any experienced club sailor and many are seeing the physical and mental health benefits of sailing well into what used to be called the “retirement” years. Youth championships attract huge numbers but also a massive range in standards. Of course, the world’s best youth sailors are competing but any sailors regularly competing in the UKLA Youth Series will be perfectly comfortable at these events.
International events are a superb experience if you are lucky enough to be able to do one. For younger sailors, while it develops racing experience and skills, more importantly it can help build resilience and independence. In UK most parents bring their children (or team up with other parents), but this is far from common in other countries and commercial organisations such us Sailcoach that provide the opportunity to do it independently of parents.
Unlike other classes, for youth events there is seldom a selection needed as the UK gets lots of places and the same for Masters events. The process for Europeans and Worlds is straightforward, as you apply for entry on the international class websites (ILCA International for Worlds and EurILCA for Europeans). After the deadline for entry closes, the UKLA checks all entries made under GBR for eligibility (e.g. membership status, whether the sailor has raced in at least one UKLA qualifying event). In the unlikely event that the number of GBR entries is greater than the number of places, the UKLA ranking list will be used – for youth events this has not happened for years. Please note that this is a summary on which you should not rely and you should check the UKLA website for the formal process. You will need to decide on whether to bring your own boat or charter one (there are several companies that do this). It is normally best to have coached regatta support and UKLA now offers this in partnership with the Andrew Simpson Performance Academy (and again other commercial options are available). Finally, a WhatsApp group is set-up for each event to help with communication.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #18
Today’s blog is about rabbit runs! Hopefully, I haven’t lost too many of you already, but I love rabbit runs. What’s a rabbit run? It is used to start a race to windward without a starting line when each boat on starboard (or port) in turn passes behind a boat, the rabbit, on port (or starboard) roughly 2 boat lengths apart. It is a common training exercise as it allows a group of boats to start evenly and try to hold their lane to windward as long as possible.
Rabbit runs are used by everyone from club sailors to Olympics medallists. As a training exercise, a rabbit run has many useful purposes. Fundamentally is a test of boat speed allowing boat set-up and technique to be refined in different conditions. It is also a test of concentration as a momentary lapse will see you drop out of line. For less experienced sailors, it teaches you about wind shifts as the angle between boats above and below changes but (and this is sometimes under-rated) even for the most experienced sailors it allows you to assimilate and recognise for future use subtle wind changes and patterns (the so-called intuitive feel for the wind that is actually learned). You also develop the refined trade-off between speed and height in response to specific types of wave and sea condition – developing the “feel” needed to sail fast.
Thinking about recent rabbit runs, my first thought turns to the post lockdown period when organised sailing was not yet allowed and we had more than 20 ILCAs on the water at Queen Mary doing spontaneous rabbit run races in the glorious weather – it felt like some sort of relief. And this year prior to the Master Worlds in Mexico I did a couple of sessions with my friend Orlando Gledhill where we simply lined up together and sailed upwind as if on a rabbit run. These runs are intense and become like a duel, and that’s why rabbit runs become so compelling – no one wants to drop out of the line! It’s why it works for any two sailors of comparable standard in any stretch of water around the country. Then we arrived in Mexico, the 8 GBR sailors where lucky enough to have Micky Beckett as our coach and guess what - we spent two days before doing rabbit runs, refining our approach to wind and wave conditions, with expert input from Micky.
Of course, there’s a load of variations from runs that just finish after 5mins or others that turn into a race to a windward mark. You can try different settings or practice holding your height or footing – the options are endless.
So my message to anyone out there who wants to improve, get out on the water with a couple of mates and do some rabbit runs!
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #17
Just a couple of quick thoughts this week as I am away.
Some great news from the weekend - UKLA and Hayling Island Sailing Club have been awarded the 2025 European Masters event.
We have added a one-day Youth event to our calendar on 30th Dec – UKLA Winter Youth Champs. The event is being organised and run by Draycote Water Sailing Club with support from UKLA.
Having recently completed our annual return to the RYA, there were some interesting numbers. Entries at our events in 2022 are way up, in fact 31% on a comparable basis with the Inlands alone having 65 more entries. I have mentioned before that we will do close 2,000 sailor training days in 2022 – that’s roughly 20 sailors doing UKLA training every weekend of the year! So the class is doing well but despite this there are areas to improve.
The Grand Prix circuit is one (Blog#16), but also our Masters participation. This is one of the fastest growing parts in many sports, sailing included, providing physical and mental benefits for participants. UKLA has a great record in this area, and we have some plans to promote further. We also need to promote greater female participation. Sarah Stephens has agreed to identify a programme of activities to this area in our class – in fact, she has already started. In due course we may be looking for some input and extra help.
I also wanted to mention some of the great resources on our website – I know these can be a little difficult to find at times (another project to review and refine!).
There are 36 podcasts in our series Meet the Sailors – An hour with Flower.
There is our super 50th Anniversary Yearbook produced by Guy Noble with many interesting and timeless articles.
There is an article of choosing your best ILCA rig by Ben Nicholls, our Vice-Chair. If you are thinking on transitioning to an ILCA, there is an article here. Please send on to anyone thinking of joining us or changing rig.
Finally an article on What is class legal equipment?
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #16
This week I wanted to touch on our Grand Prix circuit in conjunction with Richard Mason who is our National Grand Prix Co-ordinator (Contact Richard). Many of you will remember the Grand Prix circuit in the eighties and nineties which was so well attended around the country and the envy of other classes. Richard tells me that he wants to build the circuit back to those glory days and starting last year, the UKLA has started committing more funds to support this.
So what is the Grand Prix circuit?
Richard says This is some great ILCA class racing at local level which takes place throughout the main sailing season. This is broken down into different regions in the UK – see here on the website. There is normally several open meetings (on UKLA calendar) to count for the series and prizes for the overall champions as well as others are awarded. You can take part in any rig and the rules for each area are set by the area coordinator for the year. The basic rules are simple: come along, have some great racing and enjoy (smiles are compulsory). There are always hot shots who turn up to events, but all levels and ages are made welcome - remember ask the boats at the front for tips as they normally help.
Richard plans more UKLA support next year including much more promotion of the Grand Prix circuit. If you have suggestions, please email Richard at above address. Also please make sure your club class captain is now the Class Captain WhatsApp group. We have only one region without a co-ordinator (east coast) so if you can spare some time to help out with a Grand Prix circuit there please get in touch.
Super Grand Prix events (SGP)
These are two-day events (normally one event per region) with top class training on Saturday (heavily subsidised by UKLA) and a social event Saturday night. Again aimed at club level sailors ……do not let the word super make you think it is aimed above you ….Everyone is welcome no matter what their ability. Sunday is putting into to practice what you have learnt Saturday with GP level racing and a prize giving.
So have a good look at the calendar next year and pick a few events to turn up too. I am sure you will enjoy.
It is worth adding that UKLA events as a whole (Nationals, Qualifiers, open training and support for club training, Grands prix and SGPs) are run at a financial loss in order keep prices as low as possible and attract as many ILCA sailors as possible. That may be part of the reason our participation numbers are so high but it certainly doesn’t mean the UKLA is making more money out of the increased numbers. Our Treasurer, Steve Taylor, and I will do a blog on this shortly.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #15
Elite sailing and it’s not the critic who counts…..
While we are delighted to have so many elite sailors sailing with us on a regular basis, regular readers of this blog will know that they make up just one part of the many constituents of the UKLA. But as the ILCA Senior Europeans start this week, I wanted to pay tribute to the GBR sailors in Hyeres.
To complete near the top in our two Olympic events takes sustained effort over many years. Training on and off the water, out of sight, it can be a lonely pursuit. Some don’t achieve what they set out to but that makes it all the more admirable, reminding me of the Theo Roosevelt quote
“It is not the critic who counts, not the person who points out how the strong person stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena: whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly: who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring, knowing their place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory nor defeat”
UK Lottery and UK Sport have of course transformed the money available to elite athletes but the challenge in most sports is how to bridge the gap between talented /committed athletes and the elite level without outside funding. As a sport / class we probably don’t do enough to support those starting this journey and we need to consider how to do more. But this theme transcends elite sailors and raises the question of accessibility to our sport at a grassroots level. We have said in our recent strategy document (see website) that we would look at some initiatives in this area, but the answers aren’t easy.
We will continue to encourage the link between grassroots and the top sailors. We are privileged to have these sailors in our fleet while they challenge to compete in the Olympics but also welcome the way they give something back to the class.
Best of luck to the over 30 GBR sailors competing this week.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #14
Last weekend saw the last of the four UKLA events in the autumn with the UKLA Noble Marine Inlands hosted by Grafham Water Sailing Club. With a huge entry of 188 and quite a few sailors who may not have been at the other UKLA events, it showed the attraction of a Midland lake venue at this time of year. With the help of the host club, at short notice we flighted the ILCA6s and added a second race area. Of course, well done to the sailors (and any parents that provided transport!) – you will see Jon Emmet’s excellent video of the event on our FB channel.
With a combined entry across all four events of close to 700, you can imagine the level of organisation needed so I wanted to highlight the effort put in by so many people.
I can’t mention everyone, but I wanted to single out two people. Firstly I would like to thank our class secretary, Ellie Ratusniak, who has worked very hard to ensure these events have been a success. Secondly our Sailing Secretary, Keith Videlo, who has worked tirelessly especially in ensuring we had two race areas at the weekend, effectively doubling on-the-water resources needed – race committee, safety as well as boats and RIBS. Beyond that we had have a super team of volunteers to make these events a success. At all our events, not alone is the Race Officer a volunteer, but there are also many other race officials and jury who are volunteers attending regularly who would not otherwise need to be there. Of course, there are many other parents and supporters helping with everything from launching, tallying, safety and the prize-giving. Thanks to everyone.
We said we wanted to make UKLA events more attractive to volunteers and encourage more of you to help run the class and we have made good progress on these. We now have a sign-up sheet for our events giving transparency and flexibility. As our events get bigger, we need more RIBS on the water and Brett Lewis, our Safety Officer, has introduced a payment of £80 per weekend on top of out-of-pocket expenses to encourage those that have a RIB to bring it to our events. Our recent call for various volunteer roles has seen around a dozen people come forward – our challenge now is to work to get these in place. Finally, we had a drinks reception for volunteers at Grafham – not helped by the race committee doing the races far to efficiently and finishing early on Saturday!
With the enthusiasm of all our volunteers and the UKLA committee we have been able to grow the class while trying to make it a welcoming place for everyone. Of course there is more to do, but we are heading in the right direction.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events
UKLA Chair blog #13
Despite the lovely autumnal weather, thoughts are starting to turn to frostbite racing, and this is where I think the ILCA comes into its own. Why?
There is great club racing up and down the country all winter. You can rig up in no time at all and there’s no crew to organise. Out for a couple of quick races and in for a hot shower and drink in the clubhouse.
I mentioned recently how much fun it is to take an ILCA for a “blast” in strong winds, but at the other end of the wind scale, there is some great racing in 5 knots with everyone in near identical boats and similar boat speeds. As well as good racing, you get a physical workout and its great to socialise with other sailors after racing.
When I was much younger, I loved frostbite racing but I hated the really cold days. Younger sailors today don’t probably appreciate how much resilience was needed then, now that the sailing gear has improved so much!
For those interested in pursuit racing, there is the SailJuice Winter Series which was won a couple of years ago by Alistair Goodwin in an ILCA7. It would be great to see some more ILCAs entered this year.
Finally, entries for the UKLA Inlands at Grafham this week are 193, which is super, but it does mean we need some more volunteers to help run this – we have a new sign-up sheet here SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER. Good news is that we are now paying a fee (plus expenses) for use of private RIBS at UKLA events. See Brett for details. A reminder that we have a volunteer drinks reception at 17:30 – please come along and have a drink on UKLA if you have volunteered during the year.
All the best
Mark
Check our UKLA website and calendar of events