Over 100 Young sailors will be competing in the Volvo RYA Northern Ireland Zone Championships at East Antrim Boat Club, in Larne, this weekend (15-16 September, 2001).

The aim of the championship is to give young dinghy sailors and windsurfers the opportunity to compete locally at a professionally-managed event. These championships have been going from strength to strength every year, record numbers of entries competed at the recent Volvo RYA English Zones where over 1,000 young sailors entered.

‘The Northern Ireland Zone is looking forward to an exciting weekend of sailing.’ commented James Farrell the RYA NIC Race Training Co-ordinator, ‘A big thank you to East Antrim Boat Club for putting tremendous effort into organising the Volvo RYA Northern Ireland Zone Championship. This will be a great opportunity for all junior and youth sailors to get some excellent racing experience, and we would like to encourage all young sailors under the age of 18 to join in the event.’

This year’s Zone Championships will form an integral part of the Volvo RYA Youth Sailing Initiative. Talent Scouts will be on the look-out to identify young sailors with natural ability and potential for a place in the national Youth Squad.

SMW Volvo, the local Volvo Dealership are also supporting the event. ‘We are pleased to be involved with this exciting regatta, and look forward to watching some future sailing starts out on the water.’ Said Victor Mallow of SMW Volvo.