Sevenoaks sailors enjoyed a very successful weekend at the schools’ nationals – the U19 A team retained their title, defeating Magdalen College in the final, while the B team finished fifth overall and the U17s finished third and fifth overall in their division. A fantastic achievement out of nearly 40 competing teams. Well done!
The 30th anniversary British Schools Dinghy Racing Association (BSDRA) national finals took place on 22-23 June at Farmoor reservoir near Oxford. The event saw 38 school teams competing in U19 and U17 divisions across two full days of racing.
Day one saw the teams racing in the first stage which would qualify them for seeded leagues for day two of the competition. The U19s had a sensational day, ending it ranked first and second overall, while in the U17s Sevenoaks lay third and eighth overnight.
Day two saw the U19 teams stumble a little, picking up a few early losses but both comfortably qualified for the top six gold league. Sevenoaks A picked themselves up for the gold league and won four out of five races to qualify for the knockout stages as the number 1 seeds. The B team unfortunately narrowly missed out and finished fifth overall, comfortably the top performing B team.
Sevenoaks A went on to face a very quick team from Norwich School who took the first race in the best of three match but the team showed great resilience in fighting back to take the next two races and claim a place in the final where they would face long standing rivals Magdalen College.
The team, in their final event for the school, really showed their skills in the final to take it out 2-0 and retain their National Schools crown; an amazing performance from a highly skilled and dedicated team in front of a large crowd of supporting Sevenoaks parents!
In the U17s the A team had a great second day rising from their eighth place ranking overnight to qualify into the semi-finals where they were beaten by eventual winners Norwich – they recovered and defeated Royal Hospital School in the third place playoff. The B team finished fifth overall.
The sailors headed home exhausted from a long weekend but elated with their respective performances!
Sailing for Sevenoaks:
U19
Sevenoaks A (1st overall)
- Nick Davies & Charlie Cooper
- Cossie Lewis & Annabel Richards
- Anne-Marie Ratnage & Alice Parker
Sevenoaks B (5th overall)
- Will Caiger & Ian Ratnage
- Josh Davies & Ed Salmon
- Ellie Wild & Issy Willis
U17
Sevenoaks A (3rd overall)
- Becky Caiger & Jamie Elder
- Tom Hobbs & Gaetan Bauné
Sevenoaks B (5th overall)
- Charlotte Lo & Liam Pfister
- Ali Macun & Ferdinand Beier
For full results, see: U19: http://events.ksail.co.uk/2019/BSDRAFinalsFirefly/ U17: http://events.ksail.co.uk/2019/BSDRAFinalsFeva/
