Youth Sailors Gear Up for Irish Sailing Nationals

23rd April 2025

Afloat.ie Team

Young sailors prepare to compete at the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships in Dun Laoghaire, 24-27

The 2025 Irish Sailing Youth National Championships will take place from 24 to 27 April off Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Over 160 young sailors, aged 12 to 18, will compete in Ireland’s largest youth regatta.

It represents an opportunity for youth sailors to come together and gain competitive experience at the start of the 025 summer season. Hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club, the event is sponsored by Waterman Tecsar Engineering Alliance.

Event Director Richard O’Connor expressed pride in hosting the championships. “We are very proud to host Irish Sailing’s Youth National Championships,” he said. “The facilities at the Club are ideal for this type of event.”

Six classes will compete at the championships: Optimist, Topper, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, 420s, and 29ers. This event allows competitors to showcase their skills against the best in the country.

Sean Evans, Irish Sailing Development Manager, highlighted the significance of the event. “The Youth Nationals is a key event for those starting off their sailing career,” he stated.

In addition to racing, there will be talks aimed at sailors throughout the weekend. A debrief from coaches will be held after racing each day, along with a Coach’s Conference on Friday.

On Thursday, Olympians Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove will discuss their Olympic journey. The weekend talks will also include a session on the Irish Sailing Pathway and an anti-doping workshop from Sport Ireland.

Published in Irish Sailing, Laser, Topper, Optimist, 29er, RStGYC, Youth Sailing

Published in Irish Sailing

Tagged under

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

Irish Sailing

The Irish Sailing Association, also known as Irish Sailing, is the national governing body for sailing, powerboating and windsurfing in Ireland.

Founded in 1945 as the Irish Dinghy Racing Association, it became the Irish Yachting Association in 1964 and the Irish Sailing Association in 1992.

Irish Sailing is a Member National Authority (MNA) of World Sailing and a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The Association is governed by a volunteer board, elected by the member clubs. Policy Groups provide the link with members and stakeholders while advising the Board on specialist areas. There is a professional administration and performance staff, based at the headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Core functions include the regulation of sailing education, administering racing and selection of Irish sailors for international competition. It is the body recognised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland for nominating Irish qualified sailors to be considered for selection to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games. Irish sailors have medalled twice at the Olympics – David Wilkins and Jamie Wikinson at the 1980 games, and Annalise Murphy at the 2016 games.

The Association, through its network of clubs and centres, offers curriculum-based training in the various sailing, windsurfing and powerboating disciplines. Irish Sailing qualifications are recognised by Irish and European Authorities. Most prominent of these are the Yachtmaster and the International Certificate of Competency.

It runs the annual All-Ireland Championships (formerly the Helmsman’s Championship) for senior and junior sailors.

The Association has been led by leading lights in the sailing and business communities. These include Douglas Heard, Clayton Love Junior, John Burke and Robert Dix.

Close to 100 sailors have represented Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Membership of Irish Sailing is either by direct application or through membership of an affiliated organisation. The annual membership fee ranges from €75 for families, down to €20 for Seniors and Juniors.