Annual Women's ILCA Regatta at Burton Sailing Club
by Christine Statham 26 Jun 21:15 BST
13-14 June 2026
What an incredible weekend at Burton Sailing Club as we hosted the annual Women's ILCA Regatta! Hosted over 13th and 14th June the event was supported by sponsors Rooster and Ovington, along with funding from Sport England and the RYA evolution fund.
Saturday kicked off with a full day of coaching from Eve Kennedy, supported by Emily Dengate and Jill Reid. With plenty of wind came plenty of capsizes and even more smiles. We worked on tacks, gybes, and windward-leeward courses, plus some beating practice and even the challenge of tacking and leaving the tiller behind our backs.
The best part was watching everyone's confidence grow throughout the day. Also in attendance was Sallie Bowd the Sailing Developer for RYA Midlands, who was on hand to support Females and to let them know of initiatives in the area.
After a lively day on the water, we wound down with a relaxed Paint, Pizza & Prosecco social the perfect way to end the evening.
Sunday was all about racing, led by an all female team: Natalia Orgonova as Race Officer, Jill Reid assisting, and Viki Myatt and Alenka Hrovat keeping everyone safe on the water. We completed six races on an L course in two fleets: ILCA 4 and ILCA 6. Libby Farnell (Largs SC) dominated the fleet ILCA 4, winning every race except one where an unexpected swim gave Nancy Ellis (Rutland SC) the opening to take the win.
In the ILCA 6 fleet it also looked like Scotland were going to give England a run for their money as Sarah Green (Prestwick SC) pushed hard, but Christine Statham held strong to take the lead in all but one race, where Maria Veselova Smith claimed the victory.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 |
|---|
| ILCA 4 Fleet |
|---|
| 1st | 217873 | Libby Farnell | Largs SC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 1 |
| 2nd | 195802 | Poppy Bedwell | West Lancs YC | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3rd | 221506 | Nancy Ellis | Rutland SC | ‑3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| ILCA 6 Fleet |
|---|
| 1st | 224742 | Christine Statham | Burton SC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 1 |
| 2nd | 211256 | Sarah Green | Prestwick SC | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 2 |
| 3rd | 121797 | Maria Veselova‑Smith | Frensham Pond/NHEBSC | 3 | ‑5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 4th | 189463 | Mari Ward | Burton SC | ‑5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 5th | 182627 | Lucy Madley | Rickmansworth SC | 4 | 4 | ‑5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
A huge thank you to everyone who took part, supported, coached, organised, or cheered from ashore. And a special shout out to Daffy Harrison and Sarah Gay in the Galley for keeping us fuelled all weekend and Debbie Morris for the creative activity. I am definitely feeling inspired.
And finally a massive thank you to David Ellis is supported with amazing photography including drone shots.
The Women's ILCA Regatta is part of a programme of Female training in conjunction with ILCA Association for more details please visit Events: ILCA UK
If you are a passionate female or supporter of female ILCA sailing and would like to get involved please contact