Windsurfing teams prepare to battle in Team15 Champions Cup 2014

by Matt Carter, RYA 11 Sep 2014 19:04 BST 13-14 September 2014

Action from the 2013 Team 15 Champions Cup © Paul Wyeth / RYA

Youth windsurfing teams are preparing to hit the water at Rutland Sailing Club this weekend (13-14 September) to compete in the Team15 (T15) national final - the Team15 Champions Cup.

The event will see over 91 young windsurfers from across the UK who will take to the water to battle it out in a bid to win the prestigious title of T15 National Champions.

The 13 T15 windsurfing teams have all earned their places after a series of highly competitive regional heats in the T15 Inter-Club Championship that took place throughout the UK this summer.

Amongst the teams aiming to win the title and defend their crown from last year's event are the representatives from the North West, the West Kirby Warriors. The reigning champions from Wirral topped their T15 Inter-Club Championships table with three wins out of the four and will be hot contenders for championships honour once again.

Last year's runners up – the Pugneys Pirates - will no doubt be back with a vengeance after having missed out on the national title by the narrowest of margins at Pitsford reservoir in 2013. The young windsurfers from Wakefield have dominated proceedings in the build-up to the Championship, claiming all four victories to finish top of the North East Inter-Club table.

The South Zone's Axbridge Animals finished third in last year's Champions Cup and have enjoyed another very good season winning three of their four regional events in their T15 Inter-Club Championship.

The competitors, all aged under 16, will compete in four different windsurfing classes, each with different sail sizes proportionate to their age and ability (3.5m, 4.5m, 5.8m, Techno 6.8). The youngsters will race against the very best of their peers from across the country, trying to post the best individual results and assisting their team to contest for the overall trophy.

In addition to the T15 Champions Cup, the 2014 RYA National Junior Windsurfing Championship and the RYA Youth and Masters will run alongside the event bringing together three fantastic events, all supported by the RYA and the UK Windsurfing Association (UKWA). Additional sailors from eligible T15 teams may enter the event, but their results will not be considered for the Team 15 Champions Cup.

Chris Blackburn, RYA High Performance Manager and Team 15 Event Director, commented: "The changes to the format of the T15 Champions Cup for 2014 means that every young windsurfer in the country can come and compete against their peers, and challenge for the Individual National Championships title as well as potentially being crowned the T15 National Champions, and as such we will see over 160 Junior Windsurfers racing against each other.

"I'm looking forward to seeing some great close racing this weekend, at what promises to be the most competitive Junior Windsurfing Championships and T15 Champions Cup we have seen for some time."

T15 was set up by the RYA to help make windsurfing more accessible and appealing to youngsters at a grass roots level. It delivers fun and informal training and competition opportunities which take place at T15 clubs all over the country for kids up to the age of 15. These are run weekly at minimal cost by specialist RYA qualified coaches and instructors.

The T15 Inter-Club Series takes place regionally over the summer adding a competitive edge and race training for those keen to hone their skills. Kit can be borrowed from the clubs and the cost of sessions is deliberately kept low to maintain the accessibility.

The teams competing at the 2014 Team15 Champions Cup are: