Cadet Class 2019 Season Preview
by Neil Collingridge 20 Feb 2019 13:00 GMT
It doesn't quite feel right to say that anticipation is growing ahead of the 2019 Cadet Season as things never really stop in the UK Cadet Class through the winter anyway.
Squads have been held regularly for various age and experience groups and the Class is looking forward to its annual pilgrimage to Itchenor Sailing Club on March 9th/10th where cracking sailing (of course), great food and a seat by the roaring fire with a glass of red beckons - well that's what the parents are looking forward to anyway.
The weekend before that (March 2nd-3rd) is the RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace. As usual Cadet sailors will be out in force, talking to aspiring youngsters on Stand G6 where we are fortunate enough to have a sailing simulator for kids to try out their skills on. The Class will be presenting at 13.30 on the Main Stage on Sunday and for the show we are offering free class membership for all visitors to the stand with half price membership when joining online at www.cadetclass.org.uk using code 2019RYA50 before the end of March 2019.
Season highlights will no doubt be the World Team qualifiers at Stone (6/7 April), Weymouth (27/28 April) and Grafham (4/5 May) - this year slightly earlier than usual to get things out the way for those tackling GCSEs. We can confidently say - because it's always the case - that places in the team will be hard fought and not decided until the final leg of the final race. The Worlds are over in Poland this summer - quite a trek - but no doubt a highlight for those in the team or others deciding to make the journey for the promotional regatta. In aggregate the Worlds when held in Europe normally sees in excess of a hundred boats and I'd expect that to be the case here as we head towards some real cadet strongholds like Poland, Germany, Russia and the Ukraine. The Aussies already have their team sorted and we are expecting the always strong Argentinians to make their usual showing.
Back in the UK the Nationals are at family friendly Brixham (17-23 August) with, amongst others, open meetings at South Cerney (25/26 May), Frensham (23 March) and Waldringfield (22/23 June) all likely to be well attended, as indeed will be the case at Waldringfield Cadet Week (28 August- 1 Sept) where this year Cadets are being joined by U19 RS200s.
There's a full programme of training and racing ahead and with the Class keen to keep building its numbers we would encourage you to come to the Dinghy Show and have a chat. Our sailors are the best advert for the Class and they will be more than happy to talk about their experiences, the friends they make for life and that "You'll never forget your first Cadet!".
Further details as always are available at www.cadetclass.org.uk or get in touch via email at