Spinnaker, Christchurch & Hill Head Topper Squad

 

The squad, as its name implies, is a joint venture between the three sailing clubs. Its objectives are to Bridge the gap between the skill needed to be a good club sailor and that needed to:

(a) compete at national and regional events, and

(b) gain access to one of the zone or national squads which exist

 

The squad will:

- comprise 25-30 sailors

- offer 14 days of specialist training over the winter period with top quality national coaches

- support and encouragement at regional and national events

 

By the end of the training the sailors should be able to:

- compete at regional and national level

- seek entry to the zone squad or one of the national squads

- do well at club races

 

 

The training dates and dates of major events in 2011/12 can be downloaded by clicking here.

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You may care to look at:

http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/161744

This will also appear in Fastrack and in Topper Times. The photo credits are wrong, the middle photo is by Rob Flack. I have asked them to change the credit.

Two of the SCCHHP Topper Squad got a specific mention in the report with Chris coming 9th overall and Rhiannon coming 19th but 3rd female. In total we had 7 sailors in the top 100 places and 17 sailors competing. For many this was the first time they had taken part in a major competition and they all finished every race - mostly smiling. This is a truly amazing achievement of which you should all be very proud.  We could have a competition to see if anyone can use a bigger black flag than they had at Weymouth!!!

The next major competition will be at Datchet on Sat/Sun 14/15 April. This will be the first of the National Series events.  Registration is now open at www.gbrtopper.co.uk.

Datchet Sailing Club is located on a large elevated reservoir just to the west of Heathrow airport. It is large, with great views of Windsor Castle on the western side and has the departing or arriving jets passing overhead. There is a large park below the reservoir where people can park camper vans or camp as long as it is pre-arranged. Being slightly more central I would expect a higher attendance than at Weymouth, so expect over 200 boats which will be divided into 4 flights just like at Weymouth. Look at http://www.dwsc.co.uk/ if you want to get a flavour for the location. If you are now hooked on the big events, or have aspirations of getting into one of the RYA or ITCA squads next winter then this is most probably for you.

John