Sailors gear up for Laser Europa Cup event at WPNSA

British Sailing Team Laser sailor Chloe Martin in action at the WPNSA © Paul Wyeth / RYA

Great Britain's 2014 Laser Europa Cup event kicks off tomorrow (Friday 30 May) at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) as some of the finest single-handed sailors battle it out for event victory.

The regatta takes place across three days of racing (30 May - 1 June) on the same waters used for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing competitions, and will welcome competitors from the Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and Laser Standard classes.

The Europa Cup series is part of the Europa Cup Trophy and consists of 20 well-established regattas around Europe which take place from April through to December.

More than 70 sailors have already entered online, and with sailors also able to enter up until 10:30am on Friday 30 May at WPNSA, RYA event organisers are expecting a bumper entry from some top GBR competitors.

Boasting the biggest entry for the WPNSA event, the Laser Radial fleet will be hotly contested with a number of British Sailing Team members in attendance. Chloe Martin, who claimed bronze and her first World Cup podium finish at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca event in April, will be a hot contender for podium success. The British Sailing Team sailor will be joined by Podium Potential sailor Hannah Snellgrove who will be eager to carry her momentum forward from the ISAF Sailing World Cup event in Hyeres where she qualified for her first ever World Cup medal race.

Also in action in the Laser Radial fleet will be the 2014 RYA Youth National Champion Ellie Cumpsty. The British Youth Sailing Team star claimed her first Youth National title on the world class waters of Weymouth and Portland in April and will be looking to use this event as preparation ahead of her debut at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships which take place in Tavira, Portugal in July.

In the larger Laser Standard fleet, the British Sailing Team will be out in force with 2014 RYA Youth National Champion Elliott Hanson, Jack Wetherell, Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini and Matt Reid all vying for event honours ahead of the European Laser Senior Championships 2014 which take place in Split, Croatia from 7-14 June.

Competition is also set to be fierce in the Laser 4.7, the smallest dinghy out of the three classes set to compete, with a selection of sailors from the RYA Zone Squads competing at WPNSA.

Pete Allam, Great Britain's Laser Europa Cup Event Director, commented: "We are very much looking forward to welcoming the Laser family to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy over the next three days. The forecast looks good and should therefore provide the sailors with a fun and exciting racing environment. We have a good mix of sailors already entered but are still expecting a large number of sailors from the RYA Youth Racing programme and a number of local sailors to enter tomorrow which will only add to what is set of be fantastic Europa Cup event."

Racing gets underway tomorrow (Friday 30 May) at 13:00 with three races scheduled, with the final day of action on Sunday 1 June.

For further information on the 2014 Laser Europa Cup visit www.eurilca.org. The Great Britain 2014 Laser Europa Cup event website can be found here.