500 student sailors aim to qualify for British Uni Team Racing titles

2014 BUCS/BUSA Student Team Racing Championships.83 student teams, representing 36 British universities, are competing to qualify. Most will be racing at venues around the British Isles this coming weekend, with the Northern group of universities meeting the following weekend (to accommodate the tide timetable!). University sailing clubs (USCs) have been busy training, selecting and competing since the beginning of the current academic year, last October. Team racing is one of the disciplines of student sailing, together with fleet, match and keelboat yacht racing. Clubs also make an increasing contribution to bringing newcomers into sailing, organising learn-to-sail training and facilitating a variety of sailing-related training and qualifications. But Team Racing is particularly popular in universities because of its exciting and sociable sailing format, as a team of sailors work together to try and establish an overall winning combination for their team over their opposition. Team races are fast and furious and reward good starting, boat speed, boat handling, rules knowledge and team work skills. Most university sailing clubs organise sailing at least once a week at a local sailing club, often two or three times a week, arranging team race training and, in many cases, taking team racing skills to a high level of performance. University sailing clubs compete with each other throughout the academic year, organising events themselves across the British Isles. Many familiar names appear in the calendar year-by-year. The Leeds’ Halloween Howler, Sheffield Shuffle, Oxford Magnum, Brummy Bender, London 6-Pack, Cardiff’s Welsh Dragon, Bristol Brew, Loughborough Lemming and Warwick Turtle have already been held this year.