The team racing stand at the recent Sailboat and Windsurf Show at Alexandra Palace was a huge success with 100s of visitors flocking to the stand to find out how to get involved in team racing.

Over 70 club sailing secretaries and club youth training officials put their names forward to find out how their clubs can get involved in running team racing events and training. Not surprisingly most showed interest in UKTRA team racing taster days which have been designed to introduce club members to team racing. According to Barney Smith there was also a lot of interest in this year’s RYA Youth National Team Racing Championship, to be held at Bowmoor SC on the 10-11 November. “Many people were surprised, said Smith, “that all they had to do was turn up at the event with a team of six and sail because all the boats are supplied by the organisers.”

Looking ahead, the UKTRA is heavily pushing next winter’s RYA National Team Racing Championship which will have regional qualifiers from October to March with a national final in early April 2002.

More information on team racing in the UK can be found on the UKTRA website (www.teamracing.org).