Irish Team Racing Association Unveils Packed 2024 Calendar in Effort to Grow the Sport Across Ireland

28th January 2024

While team racing has been popular amongst young adult sailors across the country for a long time, the Irish Team Racing Association is hopeful that a full calendar will allow for continuity and growth in the community after university and beyond Credit: Afloat

In response to a surge in the popularity of team racing in Ireland over recent years, the Irish Team Racing Association (ITRA) has announced a packed 2024 calendar aimed at further growing the sport across the country.

The announcement followed the election of a new ITRA committee at an AGM held in late 2023.

The ITRA Committee intends to bring adults of all ages and abilities into team racing over the coming years through an array of events running between April and October. While team racing has been immensely popular amongst young adult sailors across the country for a long time, the association is hopeful that a full calendar will allow for continuity and growth in the community after university and beyond.

In addition to this, the ITRA is also aiming to grow women's participation in helming and in the sport in general. A "Take the Helm" event is set to take place this April 13th and 14th in Malahide, with a second event provisionally scheduled for September. Currently, training sessions are being organised in the south, east and west of the country to help get more women helming ahead of the event.

The packed calendar is also set to include a mixed pairs event, a 2K Keelboat event before concluding with the ITRA Nationals in Baltimore in October, which will be held over three days for the first time.

Many in the sailing community are excited about the ITRA's plans for growth and development of team racing in Ireland. With the already established Irish University Sailing Association (IUSA) and Irish Schools Team Racing Association (ISTRA), the ITRA's efforts are expected to bring even more attention and growth to the sport in the country.

THE IRISH TEAM RACING ASSOCIATION CALENDAR 2024

Take the Helm, Malahide Sailing Club, April 13th & 14th
Royal St George Invitational, RStGYC, May 25th & 26th
Mixed Pairs Team Racing Event, Galway, June 22nd & 23rd
Take the Helm 2, Venue TBC, September 21st & 22nd (Provisional)
2K Keelboat Team Racing, Dun Laoighaire, September 28th & 29th
ITRA National Championships, Baltimore, October 18th-20th

Published in Team Racing

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