Over 150 sailors will take part and they will be joined by several Olympians, including Olympic silver medallist Annalise Murphy, and Tokyo Olympic 49er team Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove who will give inspiring talks to the young sailors after hard days racing on the water.

Dickson and Waddilove will be joined by local Crosshaven 49er team Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who have started their bid to represent Ireland in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Youth National Championships are set to take place from Thursday, October 28 – Sunday, October 31.

The Youth Nationals are unique – not only is it the biggest youth event held in Ireland, but it’s also the only time that different youth classes come together to compete, gain valuable experience on the water, hear from Irish Sailing coaches, and, along with their families, learn more about the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.

Young sailors from across Ireland will compete across four different classes of boat at the Youth Nationals: 420, Topper, ILCA 4 (Laser 4.7) and ILCA 6 (Laser Radial).

These are the classes that have been identified as the best to facilitate progression through the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway.

Although normally part of the event, this year due to COVID safety measures, Irish Sailing and the IODAI (Irish Optimist class) decided to organise a separate training week.

The IODAI National Training Week is part of an overall plan to kick-start the junior pathway and as such is being supported by Irish Sailing.

This year’s training week is in Malahide; future editions will rotate nationally. The remaining four classes will be joined for the first time by the 29er class who are in discussions with Irish Sailing about becoming a full Performance Pathway class.

Organiser Sean Evans, Irish Sailing’s Laser Radial Academy Coach said: “We’re delighted that the Youth Nationals are back on this year.

“The Youth Nationals are a very important part of the talent pipeline and gives coaches a chance to see what’s coming through.

“It’s a special event where families and friends can gather together in one location to share their experiences, learning and generally have some fun”.

David Quinn, MD, Investwise Financial Planning, commented: “We are delighted to support this wonderful event for young sailors.

“Sailing teaches important life skills such as awareness, responsibility, patience and respect, as well as building friendships that last a lifetime.

“We’re delighted that our youth sailors have the opportunity to get back out on the water to compete again at their National Championships after a break of two years.

“It promises to be a superb event in Cork over the mid-term break and I look forward to meeting everyone there.”

The evening talks include a racecourse debrief with Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove along with 49er teammates Johnny Durcan and Seáfra Guilfoyle.

James O’Callaghan (Irish Sailing Performance Director) and Olympic Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy will discuss her journey on the Performance Pathway.

For more information, visit: https://www.sailing.ie/Racing/Irish-Sailing-Youth-National-Championships

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After a delayed start to their day’s racing at Enoshima Island in Tokyo, the Irish sailing duo, Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove got the final day of their 49er fleet races underway.

Going into this afternoon’s sailing, the pair sat in 14^th position, and needed conditions and results to go their way in order to finish in the top 10 and advance to the medal race.

Their disqualification two days ago dropped them from seventh to 13th and they had been playing catch-up since.

A strong opening Race 10 for the team, saw them finish in third place putting them right in the mix.

A tougher Race 11 followed though, and they finished out the race in 17th place.

A fantastic final Race 12 saw them take the win that perfectly bookended their Tokyo journey with a win at the start and a win at the end.

However, it wasn’t enough to see them through to the medal race, as they bowed out of the competition in 13^th place overall, just three spots outside of qualifying.

Speaking afterwards, Dickson said: “I’m pretty proud of the way we sailed, it’s really good to finish on a high with the last race, and pretty amazing that we got two race wins.  We’ve learned a lot from these games and we’re going to bring that forward to [Paris] 2024.”

Waddilove added: “Overall, it was a very positive experience and we’ve learnt plenty from this Olympic experience that we can bring forward.”

“My biggest takeaway from this week is that we were very much capable of competing against these guys that have done multiple Olympics and have medals and medals under their belts and there’s no reason why we can’t get to 2024 and be medal contenders.”

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Despite her recovery of form on Thursday when she scored a race win and a second-place, Friday saw her finish the ten race series in 18th place overall, outside the top ten for Sunday’s medal race final.

Murphy noted after the race to RTÉ that she “can’t see [herself] going to another Olympics”, possibly ending a fruitful period for Irish Sailing.

“Over two decades, Annalise has made a massive impact on our sport and is certainly Ireland’s greatest Olympic sailor ever,” said James O’Callaghan, Performance Director with Irish Sailing.

“She has been a European champion and competed in three Olympic Games, won races in each and won a Silver medal.  Her legacy lives on in the dozens of female and male athletes inspired by her performances.”

The Irish squad gathered at the dinghy park in  Enoshima Harbor where there was an informal tribute gathering held to honour the National Yacht Club sailor.

Ireland still has one boat competing with the final three races of the Men’s 49er skiff event scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Robert Dickson (Howth YC) and Sean Waddilove had two top ten results and an 18th on Friday and lie 14th overall.

Saturday’s three races are crucial to their prospects of achieving a place in Monday’s medal race final.

“We have moved on and are completely focussed on the remainder of the regatta,” said O’Callaghan, after the sailors’ times were disqualified yesterday after they used illegal equipment.

“When we fully debrief what has occurred with the equipment issue plus every aspect of our preparations, we will strengthen our processes to ensure this sort of thing cannot happen again.”

Team management will also be engaging with World Sailing and the International 49er Class Association to provide feedback about equipment rules and their application of them by measurers and International Juries in future.

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The Dublin pair won from Britain and Germany and will lead going into race 2 in the 49er class.

Light and shifting winds delayed racing, including an abandoned race in which the pair were also at the front of the fleet.

The thrilling single race of the day saw the pair gradually improve from fourth place to first over the three laps of the course close to Enoshima Island. The actual finish was delivered with a watery flourish as the Irish crew skidded over the line barely centimetres ahead of the British boat.

“You only have to win by a few centimetres”

“It was pretty close but you only have to win by a few centimetres,” said Robert Dickson of Howth Yacht Club. “We didn’t know (crossing the line) that we’d done it until we came in and Matt (coach McGovern) told us.”

While three races had been planned for the opening day, a near calm followed by shifting wind direction meant a series of delays plus the abandonment of the first race attempt in which the Irish crew also sailed well.

“I feel thrilled, we can’t ask for a better start,” Skerries Sailing Club man Seán Waddilove.  “But you have to remember that this is the very first race and anything could change with eleven races to go, plus a medal race – hopefully.”

The event rules prevent race starts after 5pm local times so racing resumes on Wednesday as scheduled with the missed races added where the programme allows later in the week.

Meanwhile, Annalise Murphy had her best day of the regatta so far with a consistent ninth and ten places partially off-setting her disappointment of the opening two days.

The double-Olympic veteran and Rio Silver medallist moved from 32nd place to 20th overnight and the series will have a rest day on Wednesday. Four further races on Thursday and Friday will decide the top ten places for the medal race final on Sunday.

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In a thrilling final fleet race at the 49er Olympic Qualifier in Lanzarote, the Irishmen qualified for Tokyo with a race to spare.

Dickson from Howth Yacht Club and Waddilove of Skerries Sailing Club faced a threat from the Belgian crew. The Belgians sixth place finish was enough to assure the Irish boat of a higher overall standing. They were then unbeatable for the final nation place at Tokyo.

James O’Callaghan, Irish Sailing Performance Directed commented:

“The whole team have all worked really hard preparing for the Tokyo Olympics and qualifying today is a really important step, and a milestone for Rob and Seán. The result is proof positive of our sailing programme supported by Sport Ireland – demonstrates what is possible when you invest and plan long-term. In addition, the Irish Sailing Foundation funded the Performance HQ which played a vital role in preparing the team for today. Qualification has given the whole team a lift and it’s some good news for our fantastic support base at home in Ireland”.

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