Draycote Academy - winter program really does support sailors' development
by David Rowe 3 Apr 2025 10:34 BST
Draycote Academy training © Malcolm Lewin / malcolmlewinphotography.zenfolio.com
That's a wrap for the 2024/25 Draycote Academy training, and we can see our winter program, with an ethos of time on the water, really does support sailor's development as shown with Hari Clark winning the RS Tera Sport Start of Seasons, Thomas Semmens taking the ILCA 4 National Open win, and both Toby Turner (5.3) and Henry Cruise (4.2) on the podium at the Topper Winter Champs - to name just a few.
While podiums and event wins are great we also focus on supporting sailors at all levels, from attending their first winters camp to the top of club racing and beyond. Friendship groups are made; some local, some national, with sailors regularly meeting up at Draycote for Club sailing and racing, staying in touch with those sailing further away via the latest Xbox gaming, or chatting on a messaging platform, but top of the chat is when are they meeting again for the next event or training.
What started as just Optimist training weekends with lead coach Steve Irish, has flourished over the past five years into the full Academy training programme we now run, designed to support multiple junior and youth fleets providing the highest quality of race training.
It has been fantastic this year to have supported sailors in Optimists, RS Teras, Toppers as well as ILCA 4's & 6's fleets and it's great to see those sailors out training at Draycote on a regular basis outside of the Academy, too. They've been making the most of the benefits of the Club membership; using the 650 acers of water that's open every day, joining our fleet and handicap Club racing on Sundays, as well as the pursuit races over the holiday period, and notably, Draycote's very own Youth Open event during the Christmas break.
As demand for the Academy has increased year on year, we have been bringing on coaches to join Steve Irish and Steph Mitchell as part of a team with race coach development a key focus in providing ongoing quality training. In recent years we have been developing some Academy sailors who have grown up and trained in the Academy to be part of the new generation of coaching.
Millie Irish, with a history full of success in Optimist, RS Fevas, 420s, 29ers, and currently campaigning a 470, took the lead role in delivering the Optimist winter program this year. She led a lively group brimming with excitement each weekend; putting in the hours on the water whenever possible and wearing their race bibs with pride, now ready for a summer of racing.
Joe Rowe first trained in Toppers, ILCA 4s and 6s as an Academy sailor and he secured the 2022 Topper World Championship before moving on to ILCAs, and he now races the ILCA 7. Steve and Joe are a long-standing team now working together with the Academy Topper and ILCA Squads.
A group of our Topper Academy sailors travelled to Spain last year to compete in the World Championships and Steve Irish was there offering support and on water coaching. The fruits of their training labours paid off with Hari Clark taking 1st in the Toper 4.2's and Jess Powell taking 4th in the 5.3's.
We're looking forward to supporting our Academy sailors travelling to the Topper World Champs in Holland this summer, where we are now offering dedicated coached support, both on and off the water, by Steve & Joe for both the 5.3's and 4.2's.
This coming winter's Academy looks set to be another success with interest for applications coming in while the training season was still in progress!
Applications are now open for the 2025/26 winter training for all junior and youth fleets. We're welcoming applications for fleets we haven't currently offered and will put this training in place should there be sufficient demand.
The closing date for all applications will be 31st May with invitations being sent out in early June to those selected.
Also, keep an eye out for our training sessions that we'll be running through the summer months for multiple fleets, that will be open to all, not just those selected for the winter Academy programme.
Full details of all our training can be found online at draycotewater.co.uk/draycote-academy