Ireland’s biggest youth regatta will see just under 200 young sailors taking part at the 2023 Irish Sailing Investwise Youth National Championships, hosted this year by Howth Yacht Club in Dublin and sponsored by Investwise Financial Planning.

The event runs all the way through until Sunday 16th April having started on Thursday 13th from the Irish Sailing Club of the Year for 2023

The sailors will be vying for their opportunity to be noticed by Irish Sailing’s coaches who are out and about talent-spotting, identifying young hopefuls for the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. The Pathway Programme is the development pipeline that brings sailors from potential to medal winning performance, and ultimately the Olympic Team.

Host club Howth has a long track record of stellar youth sailors and is home to Tokyo Olympian Robert Dickson, the current ILCA6 Youth World and European champions Eve McMahon and Rocco Wright, and Aoife Hopkins who recently retired from her Olympic campaigning.

The Irish Sailing Investwise Youth National Championships are the biggest youth sailing event held in Ireland – and unique in that it’s the only time that different youth classes come together to compete, gain valuable experience on the water, and learn more about the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway Programme directly from the coaches.

There are six classes identified as the best to facilitate progression through the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway: Optimist, Topper, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, 420s and 29ers. Irish Sailing coaches will be talent spotting throughout the event.

“The Youth Nationals is the diamond event for those starting off their sailing career,” said Sean Evans, Irish Sailing Development Manager.

“It’s an opportunity for sailors from across the nation to test what they have been developing and perfecting within their clubs against the best competition on offer. The event covers an opportunity for all, from those who will be competing in this as their first major event after training hard at their clubs, to those who will be fighting it out at the top end of the results sheet. Regardless of where you are in your development, it’s a journey and Irish Sailing’s youth and junior coaches will be out on the water and on the land to watch every start, tack and gybe”.

“Myself and the team at Investwise are thrilled to be sponsoring the Irish Sailing Youth National Championships again this year,” added Managing Director David Quinn.

“Our own motto is ‘Invest in your Future’, but for this event it feels more apt to say ‘Invest in their future’. Youth sailing was a hugely important and enjoyable part of my formative years, where I made life-long friends and learned valuable life lessons, so I’m delighted to be able to give something back and support this generation of competitors. Good luck to all the sailors and event volunteers.”