Junior and Youth Sailing (JAYS)

Budworth has a thriving community of junior and youth sailors (JAYS). Junior sailors are under 17 years old, and youth sailors are aged 17-21 years (as at 31 August in the current membership year).

For sailors aged 8 years and older, the Club offers a range of activities to support better sailing and participation in racing. Whilst we do not offer formal training or coaching to sailors under 8 years old, these members are encouraged to sail with, or under the supervision of, an experienced member and to join in with social activities such as our popularly themed Pirates' Day.

Learn to Sail

Sailors who have not yet attained RYA Stage 3 (Youth Sailing Scheme) or RYA Level 2 are recommended to find out more about our Learn to Sail courses. Once sailors have mastered the basics of sailing, it opens up a world of fun and opportunities afloat both at Budworth and beyond.

Sunday Mornings

Junior members who have attained RYA Stage 3 (Youth Sailing Scheme) or RYA Level 2; and/or can demonstrate that they can sail a triangular course (including upwind) in moderate weather conditions and cope confidently in the event of a capsize, are eligible to join in our junior better sailing/race coaching sessions on Sunday mornings.

Ideally junior sailors taking part on Sunday mornings will have, or will quickly acquire, their own boat, however, initially, sailors may want to book a Club boat directly on the Club website. The main class of boat at Budworth for training and racing at this level is currently the Topper (4.2 or 5.3 rigs). On occasions, those interested in two person sailing take part Fevas. We also have some juniors in these sessions transitioning into the ILCA 4, and from time to time, will use these sessions to introduce opportunities to try double handed sailing or team racing.

Most coaching takes place on Sunday mornings, when there are two main groups - (1) Better Sailing and (2) Racing. We currently run two blocks of training: Block 1 (Apr-Jun) and Block 2 (Sep-Oct), with the aim of running approximately 12 sessions in total across both blocks. Details of how to book are circulated to all junior members by the JAYS Junior Co-ordinator.

The sessions are led by our enthusiastic team of volunteer instructors and coaches, who include some of our youth sailors. We also actively encourage youth sailors thinking about coaching in the future to come and help out at these sessions. We are very proud of our young sailors who give back in this way, whilst we continue to support them in developing new skills.

Outside the two main blocks, we often run additional Sunday morning coaching sessions as a warm-up for those intending to race on Sunday afternoons.

Better Sailing

This group is for anyone who has already learnt to sail and is looking to hone their skills. Sailors will already have some understanding of wind awareness, how to rig a boat, launching and recovering and will be able to sail a triangular course in moderate wind conditions (Force 2-3), including tacking and gybing and recovering from a capsize. For those who have previously undertaken RYA training, we relate this to Stage 3 (Youth Scheme) or Level 2 (Adult Scheme).

Alongside practising the skills they have already learnt, sailors are introduced to fundamentals of racing such as understanding how races are started, courses and basic rules. Our aim is to actively move sailors towards participating in Club racing by the summer/early autumn.

If you have not already learnt to sail - take a look at our Training page and/or Summer Junior Learn to Sail Course.

Racing

This group breaks down into smaller groups who broadly follow the RYA's racing schemes: Start, Club, Regional and Championship racing. Our team of experienced racing sailors, many of whom are RYA qualified dinghy instructors or racing coaches, help guide our young sailors to refine their starting, boat speed and control, tactics and strategy. At the end of every session, sailors are encouraged to stay and join in Sunday racing.

Youth Coaching

For youth sailors (aged 17-21), or more experienced junior sailors, there are also many opportunities to join in class specific coaching, double-handed sailing, team racing, endurance racing, coaching and instructing. This may include class specific coaching organised by the other fleet captains within the Club. In addition, many of our Youth sailors are involved in coaching programmes run outside the Club, which we actively look to back-up through bespoke Club coaching wherever possible. We also have specific training for events such as the WLYC 12 Hour and 24 Hour Races and the RYA Eric Twiname Junior and Youth Team Racing Championships. Youth (and junior) sailors are also welcome to join in with Better Sailing sessions on Saturday mornings.

Club Racing

All sailors taking part in our junior and youth training programmes are actively supported and encouraged to take part in our Club racing programme on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. We have a full and active racing calendar that runs from March right up until Boxing Day.

Friendly Fridays

Whilst not part of the "formal" coaching programme, from May to September, many JAYS can be found at the Club on a Friday evening from around 6pm, alongside other members, on the water practising their skills, splashing about on (or in) in the water or socialising ashore - often whilst enjoying an informal BBQ.