IOCA(UK) Optimist Team Racing Championship
Team Racing 2023
Event Schedule
The 
Volunteers required
The TR23 will need volunteers to run the event ashore and afloat.
Have a look at the Event Team sign up sheet, please select a role and sign up.
Updates
31st July The Sailing Instructions were published on the Official Notice Board.
21st July GBR/IOCA(UK) Team Racing Selection Policy updated to include a team for the 2023 Optimist European Team Racing Championship. Please note the decision not to a team to represent IOCA(UK) at the Eric Twiname Team Racing Championships in October. Instead we would like to promote the ET's as an great oportunity and obvious next step for all sailors taking part in the IOCA(UK) Optimist Team Racing Championships in August. The racing is in Fevas (without spinnakers) and Optimist sailors often do very well, competing in 3-boat teams against teams from other clubs and other junior and youth classes. Further details can be found on the RYA webpage.
8th July 21st July - GBR/IOCA(UK) Team Racing Team Selection Policy was published on the Official Notice Board.
7th July - The Notice of Race was published on the Official Notice Board.
IOCA is excited to announce a new IOCA(UK) Optimist Team Racing Championships, to take place at WPNSA on 5th and 6th of August 2023, the arrival weekend of the National Championships. The format will be 4-boat team racing, with sailors providing their own boats and organising their own teams in advance. The main aims of the event are:
- To provide a competitive and enjoyable Optimist team racing competition
- To boost the standard of team racing amongst the UK Optimist fleet
- To select teams to represent GBR at international Optimist team racing events in Berlin and Monaco
Please note that racing will take place on the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday to give time for competitors to arrive from further afield and also allow 29er sailors to pack up and leave after their World Championships. The aim is to maximise the amount of racing for each team, with lots of short, sharp races on both the Saturday afternoon and Sunday. We are also planning to have some expert team racing coaches to give sailors tips between races. The event will be fully umpired.
If you are interested, please get the date in your diary and start organising yourself into a team. If you wish your team to be considered for selection for the events in Berlin or Monaco please note the details below, particularly any age/gender requirements. As soon as you have a team you can start practicing together and reading up on team racing rules and tactics. The UK Team Racing Association website has lots of useful information including podcasts and videos. We can also recommend Chris Atkin's Team Racing Companion as a handy guide which covers everything a new team racer needs to know.
If demand for the event is high, we may need to limit entries and accept teams based on date of entry, average ranking or previous team racing experience.
In the recent past, IOCA has selected teams for International Team Racing events using the Rolling Ranking which has meant team mates may not know each other and usually haven't raced together. In future we would prefer to select teams with team mates who are keen to train, travel and race together and ideally race together on a regular basis. Team Racing is a different discipline and whilst being a good fleet racer clearly gives some advantages, being a good team racer and fully understanding the rules is more advantageous.
Teams that will be selected at this event
GBR/IOCA(UK) Team to compete at the Berlin Opti Team Cup
19th-22nd October 2023 (plus training beforehand)
4-boat team, at least one sailor of each gender.
Sailors must be Optimist age 15 or below in 2023.
Last year's cost: £1,450 per sailor. Sailors have stayed with local Optimist sailors' families in the past.
GBR/IOCA(UK) Team to compete at the Monaco Optimist Team Race
10th-14th January 2024
4-boat team, at least one sailor of each gender.
Sailors must be Optimist age 14 or below in 2023, and intend to sail further Optimist Team Racing events in 2024.
Last year's cost: £1,665 per sailor (and included training beforehand). Note however that a team containing an odd number of boys/girls will probably cost more due to the need for more hotel rooms and possibly a House Parent / Team Leader
The future...
If the August event is successful, we will look to run two events in 2024, potentially one in the spring to select for international events such the European Team Racing Championship and the Trofeo Marco Rozzotti in Venice (see photos above) and another event in the late summer to select for Berlin and Monaco.
