RS Tera Battle of the Regions 2022 at Draycote Water Sailing Club

RS Tera Battle of the Regions 2022 © Andy Gordon

RS Tera Battle of the Regions 2022 © Lisa Anderson

50 RS Tera sailors from across the UK met at Draycote Water Sailing Club for a new format of national level training and racing to conclude a busy winter training programme across our UK regions. The combination of training and racing provided an opportunity for sailors to test themselves against the best in the country and to decide which region would take home the inaugural Battle of the Regions trophy.

Led by our talented and dedicated team of Class Association coaches, there was the opportunity to train with sailors from different regions in the morning and put their learnings into use in the practice races in the afternoon. Competition was tight. There were great performances throughout both the Pro and Sport fleets and with no discards consistency was key in the breezy, shifty and chilly conditions. Based on average points only 0.15 separated Wales from the South by the end of the day.

After a mammoth fish and chips order and a testing quiz set by our Class Secretary everyone retired for the evening, excited for the next chapter of the battle. Lessons from Saturday's racing were taken into Sunday morning's training schedule and after a quick turnaround at lunch, battle commenced. Conditions were light and shifty and concentration was key. Again, the no discards rule meant that consistency counted. Light wind specialists were able to use their experience to get to the front of the fleet but with the average scoring system all sailors' results were critical, not just those at the front of the fleet. The light wind dropped further towards the end of the afternoon and the race team did well to get in three races concluding a long day on the water.

The RS Tera Class Association has commissioned a new trophy, on its way from Australia, in memory of Abi Davies, who was instrumental in promoting the class in its early days, arranging the first Tera events and the very first National Championships. The sailor with the lowest score from the winning region was presented with a framed poster on behalf of the Regional Squad. After an intense battle on the water the Southern region were announced the winners, followed by the Midlands and Wales very close behind each other. With three top three results Ben Anderson from the Southern region was presented with the prize on behalf of his teammates and he kindly thanked the organisers and the club.

This event format, new for 2022 combined national level training, racing, meeting new friends and having fun. All were in agreement that it was a big success and will now become a permanent fixture on the UK RS Tera calendar.

RS Tera Battle of the Regions 2022 - photo © Andy Gordon

UKRSTCA Class Development Manager, Marcus Collingbourne commented:
"After a 2 year programme of developing our Regional Training Squads, embracing the RYA ethos of regional activity, it was so rewarding to see so many of our sailors coming together for this new event. From the front runners in the Pro fleet to those just starting out in the Tera, every sailor helped their region, and it was great to see the friendly rivalry between the regions throughout the weekend - even at the Quiz Nite - PS: won by the Midlands!

The regional training has been well received this winter and we are continually building on this year on year. Our Class Association Vice Chair - Racing, Simon, did a superb job of taking the original concept for this new event and making it work so well. We hope to announce our winter 22/23 training programmes across our regions in the next couple of months."

RS Tera Battle of the Regions 2022 - photo © Steve Angell

Next stop for the UK fleet is Burton Sailing Club for the Rooster RS Tera Start of Season Championships 2022 on 14 / 15 May.

For all Tera related activity in the UK, check out the UK RS Tera Class Association website at www.rstera.org.uk

Overall Results: