Latest RS Feva News Feedhttp://www.rs-association.comDay one was abandoned after 30 knot gusts arrived at start time on saturday. Day two dawned sunny and lively but winds settled to 12 knots ready for the first start at 10.45. Three races were sailed with winds increasing to 25 knots. Hayling Bar ( the sandy type ) proved tricky for many but a great days sailing made up for yesterdays dissappointment. So after 3 races National Junior Squad sailors Rob and Emma Loveridge lead with Tim Johnson and Marshall King in 2nd and 3rd sailing with their sons. So the family prize really is the hot trophy this year! 4th is Tristan Ellis and 5th Jack Hawkins both ex Feva sailors returning to the scene. Vikki Payne is lying 6th. 110+ RS Fevas for Sekonda Nationals at HISC This bank holiday weekend sees the Sekonda RS Feva Nationals take place at Hayling Island Sailing Club. With over 110 entries already received and another 10 or so expressing serious interest this is going to be the largest Feva event ever held - anywhere! Sadly that record will only remain as a domestic record as the Worlds at Carnac in st1:country-region w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;France/st1:place/st1:country-region during the last week of July have already attracted over 130 entries! Live updates from the race course will be on the event website at www.rsfeva.org/nationals Having looked at the entry list there is going to be extremely fierce competition for every prize category going. Even the Olympian Mums and Dads (and I count at least two of them in the entries) sailing with younger offspring cant be certain of the family prize for there are some extremely talented siblings out there as well. This category has been broadened after the feedback from last year when siblings werent included in that category. The Junior title (both helm and crew 13 yrs or under at registration) sees various high-calibre candidates with the possibility of a Junior even carrying off the big prize! New prizes this year include the following: top boys boat for an all male team (we thought it slightly discriminatory that there should be an all girl trophy and not an all boy one! As to why it might be needed - did you see the winners photo from the Bough Beech Open last week? This prize isnt a gimmick!! And theres a best region prize. This latter trophy has been named the Anemoi trophy and will be won by the region with the aggregate best score of the top three boats from each region. The regions are based on the RYA zones/regions and eligible boats are all bar for those in the RYA NJS. At the moment the forecast for the weekend is for excellent sailing conditions. Cant promise sun all the time though! Given that it is a big weekends sailing at many clubs for many classes we would just like to wish all the very best for the weekend at their particular regattas. Good luck! 25 days to go and the RS Feva joins the championship centurions! A landmark was reached today as the Feva class received its 100th entry for the Nationals. The Sekonda Nationals were already destined to be biggest Nationals yet for the class but to crack the 100 mark is still special. With 25 days yet to go who knows where it will end! With international appeal growing as well competition is likely to be fiercer than ever. The class has a proven track record now of helping to produce youth talent in both 420s and 29ers. Many have also gone on to compete in the countrys most competitive double handed class the RS200 although the best result there by an ex Feva sailor is still only second (maybe this year!). There is a new regional trophy this year for the best performing RYA Zone National Squad boats dont count for this one! But who are the runners and riders for the main choccies? Realistically there are probably half a dozen to ten who could win based on track record. However that counts for nothing over a single regatta and you could at a stretch imagine any of some dozen or so laying their mitts on the big one. Normal routine here is to name names but we wont unfair to lay such extra pressure on someone by naming them as a favourite at this stage! Alternative strategy then where could they come from? Gosh in alphabetical order: Emsworth Draycote HISC st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;Rutland/st1:city/st1:place Torquay . Monster st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;Battle/st1:city/st1:place of the Educational establishments too with the superbly run teams from Oakham and Tonbridge going head to head in friendly competition. If still interested then www.rsfeva.org/nationals is the place to go for all the information. During the event there will be live updates from the course as to what is happening. The link to the update blog will be on the site for all to see and use. Squads squads and more squads this winter is going to be so good. The surprising result of the selection process this year is the way that the RYA pathway has worked out on the class squads. As we all know we used to have a simple structure to our training top 12 were National Squad next 12 were National Intermediate Squad and then we had 2 Regional Squads. Then we got RYA recognition and funding and this happened. The pathway is an age and ability based progression with a Junior level a Transition to youth stage Youth level Olympic Development level and Olympic Squad. For the pathway to work the pre-olympic levels must offer a sailor the possibility of progressing from one stage to the next age wise. Working backwards them given that the Youth level ends the year a sailor is 18 they should be in the Youth Squad during the winter at the end of the year they turn 17 (or earlier). This in turn means that to benefit from Transition training the winter before the sailor is going to be TTing at the latest the winter at the end of the year they turn 16. The traditional strategy for junior level therefore is to concentrate on the development of sailors at 15 or less. Well thats the background. Under the selection criteria there were guaranteed places and discretionary places. It became clear during the discussions (very lengthy they were too!) that those looking for the discretionary places formed a formidable group. It thus gradually dawned on us that we could turn enormously difficult decisions into a massive advantage. If we did it right we would end up with 2 equally strong squads. The full squads will be published once all responses are in and places accepted. I think that when you see them youll agree that these squads are indeed pretty evenly matched. This meant of course that our original simple structure no longer worked it didnt do what it said on the tin any more. So we had an RYA National Junior Squad and a class squad on an even par with it. The tin clearly had to say what it actually did. It is squad it is organised by the class and it is on level terms with the other national squad.er doh clearly it is therefore the Class National Squad (CNS). It isnt second rate it isnt intermediate it is going to be a battle royal this winter between the two squads. If the numbers improve further in years ahead we might yet up with an Intermediate Squad again but for now Im just so excited by this almost accidental development for this year. I hadnt expected this outcome at the beginning of the selection meeting. If truth be told I still thought that we would be in the position of having the original setup. I reckon that Niall and Guy Fillmore will be having a quiet little bet with each other as to whose squad will pick up the most choccies next year! This wouldnt be complete though without the following observations: There will be more than 20 percent more boats in training this winter than last (in excess of 60); there are 2 Squads with National coverage an RYA one in each of the South and North and class ones in Chichester Harbour and Rutland and the South West; astonishingly we also have an exact 50:50 girl/boy split in the RYA NJS; etc Bull Tucker UK RS Feva Class Chairman A one day open training day for RS Fevas and Teras will take place at Ogston Sailing Club in Derbyshire on Saturday November 7th. The cost will be GBP10 per person. If youd like to join in please book your place with Julia Ward tel: 07748 118555 or email julia@waltonhay.co.uk There will be two works boats available to those new to Fevas. If you have any further queries about trying a Feva please contact me debbie@rs-association.com Regards Debbie Ollie Cooper and Callum Ellis from Hayling Island Sailing Club have won the 2009 Allen RS Feva European Championship. The final day saw windy conditions for the first time all week which Cooper and Ellis took full advantage of. RS Feva Europeans: FINAL RESULTS (prov) for Gold Fleet - http://ow.ly/iH0i - and Silver Fleet - http://ow.ly/iH0j Day 3 of the Allen RS Feva Euros saw the final race of the qualifiers. With Brits 1st 2nd and 3rd. The first two races of the Gold/Silver fleet were sailed in tricky conditions but GBR is still 1st and 2nd but there are protests a plenty from the Italains. Watch this space ! The report and results from Day 3 of the Allen RS Feva Europeans in st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;Lake Garda/st1:place are posted on www.rsfeva.org and www.rseuropeans.com u1:p /u1:pRegards Debbie Day one of the Allen RS Feva European championships kicked off today in blazing heat at the Acquafresca yacht club at Brenzone on the eastern shores of Lake Garda. The morning hadnt looked t promising with an extensive cloud cover. Well that burned off by 10am leaving the heat and sun. Potentially a classic ora in store but the story of the day was different. Race 1 was held in gently building breeze race 2 was building more and all was well. Then for race 3 it got quirky holey patchey and downright odd with a weird chop.The racing is being held in 4 flights with each flight racing each over twice during the qualification series. That means 6 races with one discard will decide the gold and silver fleets at the end of tomorrow - day 2. Then there will be 3 days of final fleet racing to decide the choccies and seasons bragging rights.So how is it looking after day 1 and 3 races without discard? Team GBR appear to have the upper hand with the top 9of the top 11 slots with Ireland getting in a 4th position and Italy getting 7th overnight. Then it gets very much more international with ITA in 7 more slots of the top 20 with the leading Swedish boat in 13th and the second Irish boat in 16th. With 40 boats making it into gold the Dutch team will be sweating with someone in 41st! Leading Danes are in 47th but counting a 9th so have the talent to make the cut. The sole American here is currently in 38th but should be much higher so we await the morning with interest. It is also rumoured that we have a Cayman Islander crewing in a Swedish boat! Thats a great testimony to the welcome given last year by the Swedes at the worlds there.So a couple of little nuggets to keep us going. Ollie Cooper and Callum Ellis are setting the pace with a 212. Given that our resident olympian described the conditions as very tough that says quite a lot for their mental toughness. The ever improving Oakham duo of Cathy Lear and Francine Counsell wereny far behind with 242 whilst Robert Baddeley and James Taylor were lapping the conditions up to get 3rd on countback from Irish tyros Conor Lyden and Peter Stokes. Conors brother Brendan sailing with Marc Cudmore have the days hard luck story. Having a 4th in the first race they lost it due to failing to keep clear of a leeward boat. Proof that the 4th wasnt a flash in the pan came in race 3 when they scored a 9th. Sadly though race 2 was an OCS - so theyll have to count that at the end of qualifying.So keeping the conections going Marcs sisters (?) sorry - authors lack of knowledge at this stage - Vikki and Jane are lying in 16th going into day 2 with their solid 46 being spoiled in the difficult 3rd race by a 19th.Alessio and Mattia Bellico are clearly going to keep the home fires burning for th Italians with 7th overnight and scoring an impressive win in their 5112 scoreline.Links to results will be posted on www.rsfeva.org and www.rseuropeans.com The RS Feva UK Class Annual General Meeting will take place at HISC on Saturday June 20th. For more information contact debbie@rs-association.com Tim Gratton and Chris Taylor from Hayling Island Sailing Club secured the SEKONDA RS FEVA National Championship title for the 2nd year running. 2nd overall and first family were Debbie and Tommy Darling with daughter Charlie 3rd overall and first junior boat with helm Owen Bowerman. The Sekonda RS Feva National Championships will be hitting the 2012 Olympic sailing waters at st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;Weymouth/st1:city and st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Portland/st1:placename st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;National/st1:placename st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Sailing/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st= and quot;on and quot;Academy/st1:placetype/st1:place this coming weekend. Sporttrack will be providing a live boat tracking service that will allow both projection on big screen in the WPNSA hangar as well as web access for parents friends and family who havent been able to travel. This modern approach to parental ( and others) access to the sailing waters and sailors performance sits easily with the class modern approach and ethos. High performance but more fun and excitement for all! 70 or more participants are expected to battle it out for the various titles available. Whilst there are a number of parents sailing they are doing so purely to introduce their offspring to the sports delights. Given that some are ex Olympians and world champions themselves they will provide some stiff opposition for the Open Title which will be most likely won by a youngster in the 14-17 year age bracket. With the current champions Tim Gratton and Chris Taylor returning to defend their title it will be very interesting to see if this years generation can wrest the title away. Eilidh McIntyre and Vikki Payne will feel they have as good a chance as any but with racing this year having been as open as it ever has been the other Open event winners will also feel they have a say in the results. Thus you should also keep an eye on Alex Curtis and Andy Clarke (winners of 2 events) and Ruth and Tess Allan Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas Will Lowes and Hugo Tucker and Alice Kent and Lucy Childs. You can bet that there are a further 4 or 5 boats not mentioned who feel they have a good chance as well the most open championships in years! In the Junior Category (both helm and crew aged 13 or under on the first day of the event) youd have to go with Owen Bowerman and Charlie Darling or Rob and Emma Loveridge as pre-event favourites. For the All Female title just have a look at the overall runners and riders as there are 3 sets in amongst them already. If you are looking for a tip for an outside victory here there are two more obvious possibilities in Steph Harding and Kat Colvin or Cathy Lear and Francine Counsell. The best club trophy has in the past always gone to st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Hayling/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st= and quot;on and quot;Island/st1:placetype but Emsworth st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;Rutland/st1:city Torbay Burghfield Guernsey and st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;Shropshire/st1:place will all be doing their best to prevent a repeat. There are currently 3 schools that qualify for best school and they are st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Oakham/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st= and quot;on and quot;School/st1:placetype in st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;Rutland/st1:city Bishop Luffa in Chichester and st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Portsmouth/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st= and quot;on and quot;Grammar School/st1:placetype/st1:place. As for entertainment during the off water hours it looks like being a ripper with basketball radio controlled car racing Wii Nintendo games projected onto the hangar wall and room for some quieter movie watching available. Parents will have their bar and all can mull over the days activities with big screen speeded up replays of the days action from Sport Track and there live GPS position screening! The kids may even challenge the Fireball s (their nationals all week at the same venue) sailors to a Wii challenge or car race so adults beware sailors with attitude will be on the prowl for victims! An important message from Bill Tucker RS Feva Association Race tracking will be live at the Nationals!This could transform parental enjoyment of the Nationals as well as produce endless entertainment and coaching possibilities. We have agreed a phenomenal deal with the supplier and if successful at the Nationals will try to do the same at the Europeans. Every boat will get a little GPS unit to carry on the water (small enough to fit into a personal bouyancy aid). On a large screen in the hangar it will show (I think) track and position around the race course together with position changes. We might even get rolling pictures in one corner as the event continues. This large screen live action will be web based so non travelling supporters will be able to go on-line and follow progress as well. Ill give more details as I learn of them.We will be able to show repeats (speeded up off course) when the sailors get back ashore and that is sure to be off interest too. Id be suprised if the coaches couldnt make something of it! There is of course a cost involved with this but we feel that as this is a late addition to the event that you werent told about earlier it would be unfair to require a compulsory payment from you. So what we will do is make a pot available at registration for people to make a voluntary contribution per sailor or boat.Kind regardsBill The 2012 Olympic Venue at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is hosting the 2009 RS Feva National Championships over the next Bank Holiday weekend. Entries have reached 63 already. The 2008 National Champions have decided to defend their title so the front of the fleet is looking decidedly hot ! Entries are hotting up for 2009 Nationals. For those of you who havent entered yet remember you get a free gift if you enter before May 9th. You can also pre order your Feva Nationals logo kit. See http://www.rsfevanationals.com/ See you at st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;Weymouth/st1:place/st1:city Debbie There are some interesting statistics coming through from the entries to date for the Nationals.40 junior and youth boats entered already (plus Debbie and Tom keen to follow the success of the Debbie and Charlie combo at the GP event at Queen Mary SC)! Amongst the junior/youth entries the girls rule 43-35 in the st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;Battle/st1:place/st1:city of the Sexes The Top Club competition is hotting up with four clubs now qualifying - Emsworth SC Hayling Island SC Rutland SC and Royal Torbay YC and a further four clubs needing just one more boat to qualify Chichester YC Emsworth Slipper SC Shropshire SC and Warsash SC. Currently the st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Top/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st= and quot;on and quot;School/st1:placetype/st1:place competition is a contest of David and Goliath proportions with Bishop Luffa taking on the mighty Oast1:personname w:st= and quot;on and quot;kh/st1:personnameam. Still time for more contenders to qualify by updating their entries and registering. There are five schools and colleges needing just one more boat to qualify. As a reminder of the Fevas appeal to a broad age range of young sailors there are entries from students in Year 6 through to the Sixth Form with Years 9 and 10 the most popular. Just a quick reminder to please enter for the Nationals as soon as possible. Check who ha already entered at the following link: http://www.rsyouthsailing.org/downloads/RSFevaNationals09-Entries.pdf We are going to try and give an award to the best school represented at the Nationals so could you also please add in your school when you enter. Please be assures that we will not be publishing who is at which school but if you win of course then there will the prize to collect. If you entered before we started collecting that information then please go back into the entry page and amend the information. The same if you have entered without knowing the crews details - please go back in and and complete those details as soon as you have them. 20 entered so far so lets see if we cant get everyone entered as soon as possible - it really does make the organising of the event so much easier. Many thanks. by the way - the entries website is at http://www.rsfevanationals.com/ see you all there Bill Please find attached details of an informal Feva Open Meeting we plan to run at Highcliffe SC. The idea is to give members of the South Zone Squad a little more race practice before the Winter Champs at Draycote Water our coach Nathan and Bill Tucker both give the idea their backing. Bearing in mind the time of year we will need to be flexible on arrangements to get the best out of the day whilst being conscious of safety. It would be great to get as many of the squad along. Could we ask that those wishing to attend please let us know before the event to give us an idea on numbers. If you want any further info please let me know. See you at Parkstone. Alan Tarrant H: 01202 488282 W: 01590 688602 Highcliffe Sailing Club Mudeford Quay Christchurch Dorset RS Feva Practice Open Sunday 1st March 2009 Briefing At 10.00 and No.189; Hour Free Sailing Session Starting At 10.30 4/5 Races Back to Back Starting At 11.00 Course will be set for 10.30 - being either Trapezoid or Windward/Leeward 2009 RS Feva Sailing Instructions Will Apply All sailing will have safety boat cover Entry Fee GBP12 including hot meal We anticipate sailing will take place in Christchurch Harbour however if weather/sea state is suitable sailing may take place in Christchurch Bay. This event is aimed at providing some more racing experience before going to Draycote Water. It is not intended to be a coached event however if conditions allow we may use a video camera and replay afterwards ashore with some feedback. Event will be run by Alan Tarrant and Phil Sowden(parents of Jim and Jamie Feva 1434) For further details please contact Alan Tarrant: H 01202 488282 W 01590 688602 M 07812 703159 Phil Sowden: H 01202 770250 W 01202 383002 M 07887 778898 Thats right folks. The climax of the season is this weekend with the final GP series event and Inland Championships at Draycote. The title and many places are still up for grabs so see you there. The RS Feva training at Hill Head on October 18th is now fully booked. Entries are still accepted for the Open Meeting on Sunday October 19th for more information see www.hillheadsc.org.uk/opens.php The Hill Head SC Open Meeting is coming up on Sunday October 19th and therewill be a training day on Saturday October 18th. If you would like to bookonto the training please email either the Luke or Margaret on the followingemail addresses. mailto:SailingCommodore@hillheadsc.org.uk and gt; and gt;SailingCommodore@hillheadsc.org.uk and gt; or mailto:margarethyde@ntlworld.com and gt; and gt;margarethyde@ntlworld.com and gt; Training will be ideal for those in the early stages of their Feva sailing and/or racing careers. Open Meeting on Sunday! Last practice before the GP season finale at Draycote for the Inland Championships. Have fun and see you there. Europeans 2009 There is a fantastic hotel 5 walk from the club that would be great for everyone. Ruth and Tess Allans mum has flyers for the hotel so catch her at Weymouth this w/e. Hotel Rely www.hotelrely.com http://www.hotelrely.com/ and gt; info@hotelrely.com mailto:info@hotelrely.com and gt; Tel: +39 045 7420025 Zones at Weymouth The second last major event of the season takes place this weekend at Weymouth. Both Niall and Jonathan will be at Weymouth to give support and advice to all. The main briefing for competitors is at 10.30. Your coaches are aiming to have a coaching briefing for the event specifically for you feva sailors immediately after the main briefing. So please get there in time and come to the briefing rigged and changed as there will not be much time thereafter before launching. The first race is due to start just before 12.00 and you will need time to launch and sail out to the area as well as have a sail round to get used to the conditions etc. Niall and/or Jonathan will also do a debrief after racing has finished on saturday. There will be another pre race briefing on Sunday morning. You will be told about these briefings when you meet on Saturday. So look out for Jonathan and Niall while you are getting ready on Saturday and make sure that any querries you may have are dealt with. The long range forecast for the weekend is quite moderate at present so it should be a good regatta. Good luck to all of you. Last call then for any one who hasnt yet entered for Weymouth. The RYA cut off for entries is the 17th which is tomorrow. They will not accept entries after that. So get the entry in sharpish and dont leave it until 11.55pm!