Image: Richard Aspland/RYA

The 33rd Eric Twiname Junior Championships came to a close on Bank Holiday Monday with a new set of young winners crowned.

Rutland Water Sailing Club played host to over 330 junior racers across nine fleets who took a range of sailing and weather conditions in their stride.

Over three days the junior racers had to contend with light to strong winds, sun to hail, and everything in between to crown the new ET Championships winners.

The sailors, aged between 8 and 18, hail from the RYA’s ten home countries and regions nationwide, and represent the very best in regional talent.

The first to be crowned champions were the winners of the Laser 4.7, Charlotte Rockett, 17, from Barnt Green Sailing Club, and Scott Forbes, 15, from Loch Lomond Sailing Club.

Cameron Bignold-Kyles, 12, from Royal Lymington Yacht Club was crowned Oppi champion finishing top of the 72-boat fleet while Connor Kennedy, 14, from Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club, took top Topper honours.

In the double-handed RS Feva class, Sam Cox and William De Jaeger, both 14, from Restronguet Sailing Club, won.

The windsurfers competed across four fleets with Emma Marsh, 12, from Buzz Active, and Kyle Clark, 13, from Loch Insh, winning the Techno 4.5 and Iona Shefford, 12, from Queen Mary Sailing Club, and Alexander Meadway, 12, from OTC Portland, taking the Techno 5.8 top spots.

Nieve Ball, 14, from Burton Sailing Club, and Will Ziegler, 13, from Queen Mary Sailing Club, triumphed in the Techno 6.8 as Milly Ions, 14, from Oxford Sailing Club, and Duncan Monaghan, 14, from Nottinghamshire County Sailing Club, took the Techno 7.8 class honours.

The iconic regatta, hosted by Rutland Sailing Club in conjunction with the Eric Twiname Trust, was won overall by the RYA’s North region.

As well as the fleet winners there were also special prizes awarded for sailors who embodied the values of British Youth Sailing with many showing true courage, determination and respect for their fellow competitors.

The Eric Twiname Junior Championships is named in memory of legendary sailor, author and journalist Eric Twiname, and is regarded by many young racers as a rite of passage as they continue their journey to become top-level racers.

“This weekend offered so much for the young sailors to contend with,” said event director Chris Atherton, the RYA’s senior high performance manager, “but they dealt with everything thrown at them so well.

“The wide range of conditions was challenging for both the race committee and the sailors, but both came together to get some fantastic racing in. I couldn’t be happier seeing the attitude and smiles of these junior sailors.

“I need to say thank you to everyone from the sailors and parents to the volunteers, Rutland Sailing Club and of course the Eric Twiname Trust who yet again made this a special event.”

Full results from the event can be found here.

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