Join the Sail for Gold Roadshow medal race celebrations

Laura Hodgetts

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) will be hitting the road from Sunday to celebrate Britain's Olympic sailing medal contenders with a series of Sail for Gold Roadshow events.

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Cheer on the British Sailing Team competing for glory at the Rio 2016 Games in style at a RYA Sail for Gold Roadshow event.

From 14-18 August, the roadshow will travel around England, Wales and Scotland, with plenty of on and off-the-water activities to get involved in at each stop.

It gets under way this Sunday, 14 August, with free sailing taster sessions and big screens showing the action from the RS:X windsurfing medal races live at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA), Dorset.

Nick Dempsey (centre) at the Sail for Gold Roadshow launch © Jes Renedo

Nick Dempsey (centre) at the Sail for Gold Roadshow launch © Jes Renedo

Dinghy sailing and windsurfing sessions will be running from 10am until 4pm with qualified instructors on hand from the Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre and the Official Test Centre.

There will also be opportunities to meet members of the British Sailing Team, enjoy some refreshments, and to learn more about the sport before watching the double-points medal racing on big screens in the WPNSA at 5pm, when the regatta is scheduled to start.

RS:X windsurfers in action at the Rio 2016 Olympic sailing competition. Credit: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

RS:X windsurfers in action at the Rio 2016 Olympic sailing competition. Credit: Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Weymouth windsurfers Bryony Shaw and Nick Dempsey have a chance to be competing on this day. Bryony will be looking to add to her 2008 bronze medal, while Nick could become the world’s most successful male Olympic windsurfer if he can complete the full set, and add 2016 gold to his 2012 silver and 2004 bronze.

Race series:
Over the course of the Olympic regatta in Rio de Janeiro, the RS:Xs, 49er, 49erFX and Nacra classes are scheduled to contest a 13 race series, with other five classes doing 11 races each.

Sailors may discard their one worst race result and after the initial races, the top 10 boats in each class will move on to a final required and non-discardable ‘medal race’.

This counts as double points which are added to their standing score. The sailor with the lowest overall score will win the event.

Other roadshow stops

Monday 15 August – Lymington Town Sailing Club (LTSC), Hampshire: The Royal Lymington Yacht Club and the LTSC will be hosting an event to cheer on local Laser sailor Nick Thompson and Laser Radial contender Alison Young, who have a chance to be competing on this day.

Helping with free on-the-water taster sessions and offering sailing ‘master classes’ will be Laser sailor Jack Wetherell and local champion Sophie Weguelin, along with Elliot Hanson and Lorenzo Chiavarini, both training partners to Lymington Olympic hopeful Nick Thompson.

Kirsty Urwin, who sails the Nacra class and Sam Batten, who sails the 49er high-performance skiff, will also be on the welcoming team and assisting with the commentary when the racing in Rio gets under way.

Sailing taster sessions will run from 10am – 4pm; watch the Olympic sailing medal races live on screens from 5pm in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.

Tuesday 16 August – Grafham Water Sailing Club, Huntingdon: Sailing and windsurfing taster sessions: 10am – 4pm. Watch the Olympic sailing medal races live from Rio on screens at 5pm. Local sailor Ben Saxton will be aiming for victory with sailing partner Nicola Groves in the Nacra 17 and Giles Scott his the favourite to go for gold in the Olympic Finn class at Rio 2016.

Wednesday 17 August – Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, Wales: Sailing taster sessions: 10am – 7pm. Watch the Olympic sailing medal races live from Rio on screens at 5pm. Cheer on local sailor Hannah Mills and her crew Saskia Clark who claimed silver at London 2012 and are going for gold in the women’s 470 dinghy class. Luke Patience is also looking to add a gold to the silver he won at London 2012 in the men’s 470. In Rio, he is joined by crew Chris Grube, competing at his first Olympic Games.

Thursday 18 August – Rutland Sailing Club, Leicestershire: Sailing taster sessions: 10am – 4pm. This is the last day of the Olympic sailing medal race week in Rio so what better time to come along and get out on the water? Meet some of British Sailing Team and watch the Olympic sailing medal races live from Rio on screens at 5pm in the clubhouse. Come and cheer on local sailor Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign who have a chance to be competing in the 49er class medal races. There will be food and refreshments available including a barbecue.

Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 August – Yorkhill Quay next to the Riverside Museum on the River Clyde, Glasgow: Free try sailing sessions for school children on the River Clyde; Watch the Olympic sailing medal races live from Rio on a big screen at Yorkhill Quay. In Scotland, there will two packed days of free sailing sessions for school children to coincide with the days that Scottish Team GB sailors will be aiming for victory at the Rio 2016 Games.

Luke Patience, from Aberdeen, will be looking to add a gold to the silver he won at London 2012 in the men’s 470 joined by his new crew Chris Grube. Olympic debutant Charlotte Dobson from Glasgow and crew Sophie Ainsworth also have a chance to be competing on this day in the 49erFX skiff, which is making its first Olympic appearance.

To find out more and register your interest in the free try sailing sessions, visit www.rya.org.uk/roadshow