Interview

Future focus

RYA Director of Racing Ian Walker tells Georgie Corlett-Pitt how a restructure of British Youth Sailing’s coaching programme is aiming to bring bene ts to the wider sailing scene

t has been two years since

RYA Zone and National Junior

Squads were phased out in a move by the RYA to strengthen the UK sailing scene from grassroots level up. Now there is a vibrant regionally-based race training programme in place that is encouraging sailors under the age of 16 – and their parents – to stay local to their clubs and regions.

Although not planned in response to covid, the timing of the restructure was, in a way, fortuitous; as travel and meet-up restrictions meant that national training would have been impossible at this time anyway. And, as the man behind the move, RYA Director of Racing Ian Walker believes, the backdrop of covid has meant a more ready acceptance of such large-scale change.

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A er successful Olympic, America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race campaigns, Ian Walker took on the role of RYA Director of Racing in 2017

Wider bene ts

e aim of the restructure was to stop national squad selection happening at too early an age. Instead, at junior (under 16) level, there is now a greater emphasis on enjoyment and participation, as well as skill development, in the hope that this will ultimately help to retain more young sailors within the sport.

Ian says the rationale behind the

new Regional Training Groups has been well received and is having a positive e ect. “Our aim is for sailors to spend more time on the water and less time in a car. You don’t need to spend ve or six hours travelling for a weekend to learn fairly basic skills like a roll tack; it’s possible for sailors to learn that in their own club if some of the training is brought to them. ere remain plenty of competitions to travel to to sail against sailors from other regions.

“ is has meant a boost to club participation – not only among youngsters themselves, but parents too, who don’t have to commit to travelling away at weekends. It’s also about sustainability; by limiting travel to local regions the environmental impact is lowered. e cost of participation is also lower, making it more inclusive and accessible.”

Time sensitive

In developing the new structure (which sits alongside squads run individually by class associations) Ian and his team at the RYA looked to other sports and other countries’ sailing programmes. ey found only a very small correlation between those that perform well at junior level, and those who go on to become professional sports people. In Norway, competitive selection in sport of any sort is actually outlawed below the age of 13 – yet they continue to top the medal table at the Winter Olympics.

However, the correlation of those excelling at youth level (under 19) and then again at elite level is much higher – as many as 50 per cent of sailing’s Olympic medallists in Rio 2016 had won a medal at the Youth Worlds – and the youth level of the RYA programme therefore continues to rely on selected national youth squads.

But the RYA’s emphasis for under 15s is now rmly on “developing passion, participation, inquisitiveness, and the right behaviours, ethics and mindset”. Ian adds, “ e challenge then is that at age 16 to 19 they have to develop really very quickly, although they are then at the right age where they are physically and mentally capable of doing that. By contrast, you might be able to tell a child what to do at 11 or 12 but they probably won’t understand why - and to succeed in sport, they need to understand the ‘why’.” e shi has placed a fresh onus the coaching team to create the right learning environment. Ian says: “ e primary goal for a junior coach in my mind is to enthuse about the sport, make it fun and help those sailors develop their passion for the sport. If sailing feels like an extension of school then there’s no better way to make them give up!”

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e RS Feva is an RYA Junior class, alongside the Topper, Cadet, ILCA 4, Optimist, RS Tera and Bic Techno

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Ian chats with 420 sailors at this year's RYA Youth Nationals, held in early April at Plas Heli

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e restructure has put a fresh perspective on coaching under 16s

Recognising challenges

Coaches are also being challenged to overcome the disparity of ability in certain regions and classes. “It’s very important that every sailor gets something from their training group,” says Ian. “As time goes on and you bring more sailors through, the hope is that everybody is of a higher standard and they can all push each other, but in the short term in particular that’s quite a challenge.”

Ian also recognises disparity in the geographical scope of, and number of sailors within, each region, but feels strongly that developing a good base will pay dividends in the longer term. He highlights the important role of club junior training and junior class association training as sailors begin their journey.

Covid has also brought some smaller scale changes to the way some coaching is delivered, such as video debriefs held online that sailors can watch on their phone on the way home on a Sunday evening.

It also brought to light the determination of a whole generation, as Ian says: “Many junior and youth sailors trained all winter without even being able to go in a clubhouse, o en getting changed in the car, so I think covid was a real reminder of how resilient kids can be.”

A paucity of international events in the last two years has led some to leave the junior classes earlier than they might have otherwise. For many, the opportunity to start mastering the basics of a youth class before hitting their exam years is proving bene cial and has prevented talented sailors stalling for too long at the wrong level.

But for some, such as Ian’s own daughter, the e ects haven’t proved so advantageous; at 18, she will be leaving the 420 class without any real opportunity to develop her racing internationally at youth level. at, Ian says, is unlucky, but the new structure now accommodates an extended pathway that will help sailors continue their involvement with the sport beyond the age of 18. It involves a much more holistic approach, guiding sailors - and parents - as to how further education or professional development might work alongside their sailing, and the options within that, as well as on funding and other support.

“It can be as simple as advising on which universities allow students to have a car and therefore be able to travel to events, or which ones might be exible in their exams,” says Ian. “ e attitude 20 years ago might have been ‘don’t go to university, invest all your time in sailing’, but now it’s ‘how can we best support you to further your sailing whilst you’re furthering your education?’. Where ‘youth’ used to nish with under 19s, support now extends in some cases up to the age of 23.” is is central to preventing fall out at post-youth level - another important aim of the programme. ere are opportunities through team and match racing, keelboat sailing, coaching – just a handful of examples. Of course, for a few, there is the British Sailing Team. British

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At youth level, squad selections continue, but support is broadening to help sailors stay with the sport

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For younger sailors, developing the right mindset should be more important than results

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Regional Training Groups mean less packing up and travelling, more time spent sailing

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Ian says he encourages all youth and junior sailors to spend as much time on the water as possible sailors have topped the medal tables at ve of the past six Olympic Games; ultimately the hope is to perpetuate that trend by building a solid pathway.

Advice to parents

How can parents best support young sailors? Ian says: “Ultimately, the common trait amongst sailors who succeed, is their mindset and their drive or determination; it’s not necessarily about what they know, it’s about who they are and their desire to learn more. at motivation can come in lots of di erent forms, and it might be something that develops over time.

“Parents need to play the long game not the short game. It doesn’t really matter how well little Johnny does in the open meeting next weekend or even the national championship at the age of 12, what really matters is that when he or she gets to the age of 18 or 19 that they still love sailing and are still hungry to learn more.”

And his advice for young sailors? “Spend as much time on the water as you can! By all means, enjoy really good coaching sessions, but don’t underestimate the value of crewing for adults, racing di erent boats or simply messing about on the water.”