With term two drawing near we thought it was the perfect opportunity to reflect on the exciting term that has just come to a close.
Term one was packed with sailing at all levels, with regattas jammed in almost every weekend for many of our race sailors. Our green fleet team saw a huge influx this term with seventeen greenies competing at the nationals’ championships that have just been, and two RAYC sailors standing on the podium. Our Optimist team was one of the largest at the event with nine open fleet sailors also competing. It was fantastic to see all of the long hours these optimist race sailors put in over the summer holidays and term one paying off.
Our Optimist Learn to Sail program was also bustling this term with over 60 sailors across the three levels. Everyone enjoyed a term of gentle southerlies, and it was the perfect platform to master shifty conditions. The introduction of our new Doyles storm sails made for far fewer head bumps and tears this term – which has given the junior sailors more confidence to get out there in some of the wild weather we have been experiencing. These sails have made a huge difference this term in the amount of time our sailors have been able to get out on the water.
Over the summer and term one, the academy also launched a new coach training program (Learn to Coach). Older RAYC sailors who wanted the opportunity to were given the chance to learn from our senior coaches by assisting on their sessions. They provided an essential extra pair of hands, eyes, and voices to our coaches and are rapidly improving their skills as possible future coaches. This is an exciting new way of continuing the cycle within RAYC, with our race sailors becoming our future coaching team – with the loyalty and understanding of what RAYC is all about!
The RAYC Starling Sqaud and Laser team have also been working hard over the term. Our Laser sailors had two important regattas with Oceanbridge in late Feb and their Auckland Champs earlier this month. We even had some Fijian sailors travel over to train with our team for a while as they work towards Olympic selection. Starling nationals have just finished, and we had some outstanding results with Leo Brown and Louis Quere only just missing out on the top 10 after a race win each. The team were some of the youngest competitors there and really held their own in extremely tough conditions.
Over the summer and term one, the academy also launched a new coach training program (Learn to Coach). Older RAYC sailors who wanted the opportunity to were given the chance to learn from our senior coaches by assisting on their sessions. They provided an essential extra pair of hands, eyes, and voices to our coaches and are rapidly improving their skills as possible future coaches. This is an exciting new way of continuing the cycle within RAYC, with our race sailors becoming our future coaching team – with the loyalty and understanding of what RAYC is all about!
The RAYC Starling Sqaud and Laser team have also been working hard over the term. Our Laser sailors had two important regattas with Oceanbridge in late Feb and their Auckland Champs earlier this month. We even had some Fijian sailors travel over to train with our team for a while as they work towards Olympic selection. Starling nationals have just finished, and we had some outstanding results with Leo Brown and Louis Quere only just missing out on the top 10 after a race win each. The team were some of the youngest competitors there and really held their own in extremely tough conditions.
