Allen Academy Optimist
by Ben Harden, Allen Brothers on 12 Oct
12 October 2017
Nick Evans at the 2017 Nationals © Allen Brothers
For the past 2 years Allen, the British sailing hardware manufacturer, has been supporting grass roots sailing by supplying an Ovington built Optimist to a budding young sailor and this year is no different. Nick Evans is quietly hoping he will be chosen again after such a successful year.
Since receiving the support of Allen, Nick this year's winner, has finished 3rd British Junior overall at the UK Nationals and 9th overall whilst representing GBR at the Irish Nationals. This all comes after only one year in the zone squad. He is currently on track to make the 2017/18 national squad. Needless to say, he loves the boat, and credits it for his boat speed. Previously in 2016, Quinn Edmonds campaigned the boat successfully and finished 77th overall in the Optimist rankings. A 131 place improvement from 2015 when he ranked 208th. Quinn has since moved onto the RS Feva class and is continuing to receive support from Allen, most recently he won the RS Feva South-West Zone Championship.
The sailor who is lucky enough to gain the support of Allen this year will be supplied with the Ovington Optimist that comes with brand new Allen hardware, 2 sets of North Sails, foils and spars.
Allen manufactures and distributes high performance sailing hardware from its base in Essex. The company continues to evolve its products with the support from its Olympic Level Team Allen sailors as well as, young up and coming youth level athletes.
Do you know a deserving young sailor who would like to race the Allen Academy Optimist next year? Go to allensail.com/team-allen/allen-academy, fill out the form and explain why you feel your nominee deserves to be considered. Entries close on Friday 8th of December 2017.
Make sure you follow Allen on Facebook where the winner will be announced at the end of December - www.facebook.com/allensailboathardware