Welsh Youth and Junior Championships 2026 at Plas Heli Welsh National Sailing Academy
by RYA Cymru Wales 16 Sep 13:34 BST
Welsh Youth and Junior Championships at Plas Heli © RYA Cymru Wales
A weekend of two halves with contrasting conditions made for a busy Welsh Youth & Junior Championships both on and off the water.
The RYA Cymru Wales event at Plas Heli (12-13 September 2026) attracted an 85-strong entry across the fleets, with 95 sailors enjoying the opportunity to test and develop their skills in Cardigan Bay and with coaches ashore.
Saturday morning lived up to the forecast of 24-30 knots with horizontal torrential rain until 2pm, so Hywlio Cymru | Welsh Sailing sprang into action with its pre-organised campaign of activities for the weekend - executing Plan C out of Plans A to F covering all eventualities from perfect conditions to no racing.
For the main fleet sailors there were class-specific sessions with coaches followed by a rig talk around a 29er and an ILCA with British Sailing Pathway Head Coach Jonny McGovern.
There were then six round robin sessions:
- Make a paper sail with RYA CW Chief Operating Officer Sarah McGovern
- Strat-y chatty with Hatty: sharing feedback around RYA CW's mid-strategy review with Pathway & Events Officer Hatty Morsley
- Games with aims with top Welsh coach Alan Williams
- Splicing with Jonny McGovern and Boat Rigger's Denzil Williams
- Fitness & mobility with coach Jon Nuttall
- Virtual Regatta with coach Sam Thomas
A dozen Regatta Fleet sailors meanwhile enjoyed a trip over to the Pwllheli RNLI station thanks to its fantastic volunteer team helping to make this possible.
Teamwork and tenacity
By 3pm the wind had dropped enough for all fleets to launch with 14-20knots on the race area. A windward leeward course and fleet rotation saw three races for the ILCA 6, Topper 5.3, RS Tera Pro, ILCA 4 and General Handicap sailors, followed by two races for the Optimist, Topper 4.2 and RS Tera Sport fleets.
With the lowest of tides it was teamwork that came to the fore on the shore, with sailors and parents all helping each other to launch and recover the trolleys. On the water it was a test of tenacity with wind against tide providing some tricky wavy conditions for the racers and those on the committee boat.
Back on shore by 7pm, volunteers were greeted with donuts while the sailors hit the Wishy Washy station to freshen up their kit thanks to the Hwylio Cymru | Welsh Sailing initiative with Rins'd to promote sailor hydration and neoprene longevity.
Regatta fleet racing
Sunday arrived with the opposite problem for wind and a forecast of just 2 knots. Having stayed ashore on the Saturday, the regatta fleet took full advantage of a gentle breeze filling in at 10am to complete five races close to the beach.
With 6 knots on the main fleet race course all was set for these sailors launching too when a thick sea mist rolled in and then refused to move until 2pm. Sailors played beach games while waiting but ultimately their racing was canned.
The ever popular 'in it to win it' prize draw took place in the main hall followed by the championship presentations, with participation medals for all and the overall results as follows:
Prizes went to the top three overall for each fleet plus the first girl and boy in the singlehanded classes. Alongside accolades for the top placed racing sailors, notable prizes also included:
- Wilf Tovey - an RYA Cymru Wales Impact Award for always lending a hand to help young sailors at events and newcomers in squads.
- Sienna Watts - awarded the Rose Bowl for the female sailor with the lowest points in the biggest class at the Welsh Youth & Junior Championships.
- Zac Allsopp and Max Attrill -Endeavour Trophy for being the only 29er out on the Saturday - not quite managing to finish a race but giving it their best shot.
Diolch
Sarah McGovern, Chief Operating Officer for RYA Cymru Wales, thanked Plas Heli for hosting and the 30 volunteers who gave up their time to support the event.
She said: "It was a challenging weekend with the conditions but we made the most of the weather windows that we had. The coaches did a stellar job on Saturday delivering some education for the sailors and making it fun while we waited to go sailing. We used every inch of the available space that Plas Heli had to offer making it a great venue inside and on the water.
"A very big thank you to the volunteers for adapting to all of our Plans and staying out late to deliver some racing on Saturday. The conditions on the water were tough going and it was great to see the resilience of the sailors.
"This championship concludes our events this year. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the running of these, we couldn't do it without you, and to our Pathway & Events Officer Hatty for organising. Diolch!"
Next up
Applications for the Welsh National Sailing Team 2026-27 have now closed with selections due to be announced early next week, and the squad training programme beginning in October.
Hwylio Cymru Pathways Clubs also have open training dates to provide quality, regional coaching for youth and junior sailors over winter.
For all information about Welsh performance programmes and dates in Wales, including a calendar with booking links, visit the Welsh Sailing hub and follow RYA Cymru Wales on Facebook and Instagram.