Sailing

On Sunday 22 June, Thomas Irvine (L6) will compete in a triathlon to raise money for cancer research! To celebrate this incredible challenge, we asked him a few questions... How long have you been training for this triathlon? I’ve been training since the beginning of the year but I’d say I’ve been really focusing on it since the end of the hockey season 3 months ago as I was very busy with hockey before. What's been the biggest challenge for you? The biggest challenge for me has been the swimming training. Before entering the triathlon I had never swam competitively before so getting my swimming to the required level has been by far the greatest challenge. Have you ever done anything like this before? I have been a fan of running for a while but I have never competed in any sort of triathlon before so this will definitely be a new experience. How are you feeling about the event? I would say I am feeling confident for the event and feel I have prepared sufficiently. I have had 2 open water sessions this week in Whitlingham lake to get used to open water series and am now feeling better prepared for the swim. What are your hopes for this fundraiser? I really just want to make the biggest difference I can to help prevent cancer. I am hoping to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK as cancer is an important issue currently affecting my family. I have set a target of £1000 but it would mean the world if we were able to exceed it as it would be great to be able to make a significant contribution towards the amazing research Cancer Research UK are doing. If there is any opportunity to contribute towards finding a cure for this disease, I am a firm believer we should take it. To find out more click here!

Ellie Thwaites represented Norwich School in the Youth Nationals in Wales. To celebrate her success in this competition and in sailing as a whole, we asked her a few questions. How long have you been sailing? I have been sailing for my whole life, I learnt to sail in my optimist on Wroxham Broad. I sailed that for about 3 years, then I moved into the topper 4.2, and began traveling regionally and nationally to compete. I was in the 4.2 for about 3 years, then I moved into the topper 5.3 (which is a bigger rig) I sailed in this rig for 2-3 years, of which I became eastern region champion in my final year. I then moved into the ilca4 which I have only recently moved out of, I am now in the ILCA 6, I have competed in two competitions so far in the 6, one of which was the British Youth Nationals. What do you enjoy about sailing? I love how competitive it can be, and also how much freedom you have. Out on the water you have to be very self sufficient since you are out there for 4-5 hours per day. You get to connect with nature, being out in the waves, you see so many animals, like jelly fish, dolphins, seals. Do you take part in any other sports in school? I mainly take part in rowing at school, as it builds my fitness for sailing. I really enjoy it and the training really helps me improve my fitness. I love the competitive factor in rowing, and I love how you are pushing yourself to the max, I am quite a competitive person, so this drives me! How has Norwich School supported you in your sailing? All of my sailing and rowing coaches have been extremely supportive in my sailing journey. Norwich school has helped me by allowing me to leave school to go to events such as these and training, they have helped me with managing my work loads, and giving me extensions. What was preparation like for the nationals? I have been training a lot over the winter, most of my weekends are spent down to the south coast, Weymouth, for training weekends in the ILCAs. How did nationals go? Nationals went very well, I came into the event with the goal of coming in the top 8. But I was going to take it as a learning event, as I have only competed in the boat twice. The first day was very windy and big waves, these were good conditions for me, and lead to me coming off the water with some good results on day one. This consistency continued throughout the event, with mainly 4ths, 3rds, 2nds, 1sts. This meant that by the medal race I was in 2nd place. However my medal race didn’t go as I wanted it to, leading me to come 3rd overall. I was super happy with this result, I learnt lots about the boat and about the venue. All in all it was a very successful week. What are your future hopes in sailing? Eventually I want to make it to the Olympics, that is my end goal. What would you say to anyone who wants to get involved with sailing? Go try it!! You will learn so much and it is such an enjoyable sport, and life skill! Norwich sailing is so welcoming, and is for all skill levels.