10 OnBoarders get new boat boost thanks to JMST and RYA

Ten youngsters from across the UK have been handed a huge boost in their ambitions to become top class dinghy sailors thanks to a national programme helping young talent progress in the sport. The delighted sailors have been awarded exclusive use of their own boat for the next two years through the on-going partnership between the John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST) and RYA OnBoard. Launched in 2013, the partnership supports youngsters who display enthusiasm, drive, talent and commitment to the sport and who may not ordinarily have the opportunity or financial backing to achieve their goals. In its seven years, 86 boats and boards have now been donated with some remarkable success stories. The 2020 winners are: NAME CLUB BOAT Josephine Rist-Heppell Brightlingsea Sailing Club, Essex Optimist Joshua Pickard Bowmoor Sailing Club, Gloucestershire Optimist Jude Armstrong Upper Thames Sailing Club, Buckinghamshire Topper Alina Zubair Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club, Lancashire Topper Cicely Blair St Andrews Sailing Club, Scotland Topper Rory Pollard County Antrim Yacht Club, Northern Ireland) Topper Isabel Ritchie Notts County Sailing Club, Nottinghamshire Topper Ellis Richards Llyn Brenig Sailing Club, Denbighshire Ilca 4 Elizabeth Shilling Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club, Co Durham Ilca 4 Rafferty Seddon Salterns Sailing Club, Hampshire RS Tera