Image: Marc Turner/RYA

Welsh sailing hub Pwllheli and Devon’s capital Plymouth will host the 2020 and 2021 editions of the RYA Youth National Championships, it has been announced.

The 2020 event will be staged at the Welsh National Sailing Academy at Plas Heli, while in 2021 the spotlight will shine on Plymouth Youth Sailing Club and the Mount Batten Centre Charitable Trust.

Held annually during the Easter holidays, the RYA Youth National Championships is the UK’s premier youth racing event and a must for young sailors looking to test their racing skills against the country’s best.

Racing takes place in British Youth Sailing Recognised Classes and the results are used to select the British Youth Sailing Team to represent Great Britain at international regattas as well as the domestic youth squad for the year ahead.

Pwllheli and Plymouth were picked following an RYA bid process in recognition of their world-class sailing waters.

The Youth National Championships is no stranger to Pwllheli, having been hosted there numerous times and most recently in 2016, however it will be the first time the event will have taken place in Plymouth.

The 2018 edition of the regatta was held in Largs, Scotland, and featured more than 225 young sailors, while in 2019 more than 300 competitors will do battle at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Stephen Tudor, Chairman of Plas Heli, said: “We are delighted to be given the opportunity to host the 2020 edition of the RYA Youth National Championships. We will work closely with the RYA, RYA Cymru Wales, Gwynedd Council and Pwllheli Sailing Club to deliver a fantastic regatta, on and off the water.

“Pwllheli has a long history of hosting major championships and the RYA Youth National Championships is one of the most prestigious events where we can see potential future Olympians in action. I am sure that all competitors will enjoy our special warm welcome.”

Adrian Kemp MBE, Commodore of Plymouth Youth Sailing, added: “As one of the region’s major providers of youth sailing, we are very proud to have been selected to be part of the delivery team for the 2021 RYA Youth Nationals.

“Young people from both our club and the surrounding area will have the opportunity to see the best young sailors in the country competing on our local waters. This will be a high profile, inspirational event, that we hope will encourage many more young people to take up the sport, in a city that is surrounded on three sides by water and where many of our ‘playing fields’ are blue.”

Mark Nicholls, the RYA’s Youth Racing Manager, said: “We’re very excited to have Pwllheli and Plymouth on board for the 2020 and 2021 RYA Youth National Championships.

“They are two world-class venues with incredible sailing waters that will be worthy hosts of the UK’s most prestigious youth racing event.

“It will be a pleasure to return to Plas Heli again next year, and we’re excited to take the regatta to a new venue, the Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre, in 2021.”

The search for venues for the 2022 and 2023 will commence shortly, with more details to follow.

Meanwhile entries for the 2019 event are now open. To enter click here.

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