Royal Hospital School Celebrates Sailing Successes in National Championships

Royal Hospital School pupils at the Eric Twiname Youth and Junior National Team Racing Championships © RHS

Royal Hospital School (RHS) in Holbrook, Suffolk, is proud to be celebrating its sailing pupils' success at the RYA Eric Twiname Youth (under 19) and Junior (under 17) National Team Racing Championships. In total, a squad of 24 RHS sailors travelled to Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford, to compete in the championships across two days.

RHS Blue Team

The RHS blue team, made up by Sophia Dias (Captain), Anna Edmonds, Christopher Marsh, Devon Lane, Ciara Murphy, and Abigail Penny, participated in the Youth category, where 30 teams competed across 150 races. The competition brought together the top young team racers in the country.

After a solid first day, winning all eight of their races, the RHS Blue Team faced a tough start on the second day, coming up against two other teams that were also unbeaten on day one - Ryde Anchors and Sevenoaks White. In both races they battled through to winning combinations leaving themselves top of the standings after each team had completed ten races.

Unfortunately, the prevailing weather meant that the usual semi-finals and finals could not take place, meaning that the results were taken from the league rankings instead. As the only remaining unbeaten team, RHS Blue Team were crowned overall winners and Under-19 National Champions.

RHS Green Team

The RHS Green Team consisted of Sonny Simpson (Capt), Florence Osborne, Beth MacDonald and Cameron Lloyd, who competed in the Junior category amongst 25 teams across 125 races. The team put in very strong performances against some top teams from across the country. The RHS Green team were unbeaten all weekend but narrowly missed out on 1st place by tie break coming in second overall

RHS Falcons

The RHS Falcons, consisting of Thomas Davey (Capt), Sam Grout, Toby Smith, Harriet George, Sarah Davis and Daisy Adams competed in the Youth category. Winning 9 of their 10 races, the RHS Falcons, narrowly losing to the 420 Buccaneers, took home the bronze medal.

Ed Sibson, Director of Sailing at RHS commented on the achievements across the two days, saying: "We are incredibly proud of the outstanding achievements of our sailing pupils. Their dedication, skill, and teamwork over the two days were exceptional, culminating in the RHS Blue team being crowned the UK Under-19 National Team Racing Champions for 2024.

Each team represented RHS fantastically, from the incredible performance of RHS Green narrowly missing the Junior title on a tie-break, to RHS Falcons securing bronze in the highly competitive Youth category. These results showcase the strength of our sailing programme and the commitment of our pupils to compete at the highest level."

Year 13 sailing pupil Sophia Dias, Captain of RHS Blue Team, commented on her team's achievements saying: "I feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to compete, and I couldn't be prouder of my team. We worked exceptionally well together, putting in immense effort, which was clearly reflected on the scoreboard. Winning every race in our division was an extraordinary accomplishment, especially given the tough competition and challenging, shifty weather conditions.

"Initially, we knew we had the potential to win but didn't fully anticipate it until the end of the first day, when we won all our races and realised victory was within our reach. Our main strategy was to focus on one race at a time and prioritise teamwork, which I believe was the key to our success.

"This event was extremely organised, and we are deeply grateful to the staff, volunteers, and our coaches for their dedication to making it such a smooth and fair competition. Despite the unpredictable wind, the race committee did an excellent job ensuring a great experience for all teams. This achievement will be a highlight for us for a long time to come."