FOUR CARDIFF sailors, Mike Corney, Lara White, Maia Walsh and Eleanor Assinder, were ?among 120 sailors from across the UK, selected to attend the first RYA Great Britain Team Racing Development Squad qualifying round.
The event, held at Bough Beach in Kent, was an opportunity for upcoming talent to fast ?track their progress and compete for the chance to represent Great Britain at the Team Racing World Championships. ?
The selection process for the squad involved a preliminary round of trials for ?which participants were selected based on a sailing CV. The sailors endured two days of intensive racing in ?freezing conditions and strong winds under the watchful eyes of former ?world champions, who made up the selection committee.
?Walsh and Assinder were amongst 30 sailors selected for the squad, which had its first training weekend during March. Once again, the weekend was plagued by gale force winds, rendering the first day unworkable. Despite the weather, which favoured ?the heavier all male teams, Walsh and Assinder successfully held their ground during the ?racing scenarios.
Walsh, Captain of the sailing team, remarked that she is greatly looking forward to ?using some of the exercises to help train the increasingly successful sailing team. Assinder commented afterwards: ”?The training has hugely improved our sailing and enabled us to develop as a team”.
