Itchenor Sailing Club to host Junior Fortnight
by Rhiannon Broadbent 7 Jul 2014 11:14 BST
28 July – 8 August 2014
Itchenor Sailing Club is gearing up for its annual Junior Fortnight, one of its flagship events, which takes place from 28th July – 8th August. The two week event is aimed at 8 to 18 year olds and features a program of competitive racing coupled with a large and varied social programme to suit all ages.
Junior Fortnight has been an integral part of ISC's sailing calendar for over fifty years. Many past Olympic and World Champions have learnt their racing skills whilst participating in the event, including Archie Massey who has won every International 14 World Championship since 2008, a record for the class and Ed Fitzgerald the 2012 49er Youth World Champion crew. Ed comments: "My first experience of competitive sailing took place at Junior Fortnight aged 8. I remember being in Mirrors 3 and going round Itchenor, Cobnor and Deep End and getting my first taste of winning some races! It is a socially important two weeks and it is as much about friendships and having fun as it is about the sailing."
In 2013 there were 205 competitors from over 100 families from the local area and further afield. This year is set to be even bigger as the event has been opened up to other sailing clubs for the first time ever.
Classes which take part in Junior Fortnight are Mirror, Laser, Topper and International 420s.
This year the Club are delighted to welcome both Strutt and Parker, Chichester and jbA Architecture as supporting sponsors to the event.
The social program is an integral part of Junior Fortnight with 30 events taking place throughout the two weeks for all age groups as well as parents.
Tom Trevelyan, Vice Commodore at ISC, comments, "Junior Fortnight is part of an excellent sailing support programme at Itchenor and we have seen many of our youth sailors enjoy success at the highest levels of the sport. Most years we see juniors who've started with us as beginners go on to qualify for Mirror or 420 National Squads with some later going on to compete in the Olympics and World Championships."
To find out more and keep up with the action, visit www.itchenorsc.co.uk or call 01243 512400.