After a full and exciting week of training and competition, the 2022 Queensland Youth Championships finished on a high over the weekend with clear skies and tight racing deciding podium finishes.

The regatta saw a record number of 229 total competitors on 212 boats, with participants, families, staff and volunteers alike noting the success of the event.

Local volunteer and finalist in the Volunteer of the Year category at the recent 2022 QLD Awards, Derek Scantlebury said he was stoked with the outcome of the week.

“It was an awesome week - great to see all the boats out on the water and all the kids having fun,” Scantlebury began.

“Sailing is a group activity but also allows the kids to achieve their individual goals as well. It’s about being resilient, which all the kids have demonstrated this week, but also learning to work well and rely on friends and teammates.

“We have such a great sailing community here in Queensland and it’s inspiring to be back at this event again, seeing all the smiles and being part of such an awesome volunteer community.” he finished.

Derek with his daughter Sarah after the final day of racing

Alyssa Mathieu from Townsville Sailing Club secured a solid first place finish in the Sabot class, stating that she was very happy with her result with such stiff competition.

“I love a good competition – it was a really close finish and having it be really close is a lot of fun,” said Mathieu.

“I just focused on getting good starts and keeping my boat fast and it all worked well for me.”

Caelan Bryt, Alyssa Mathieu and Laken Eaton after recieving their medals

In the Optimist Intermediate category, first place went to Reid B Martin on Plan Sea (Port Douglas Sailing Club) who sailed a fantastic Regatta with four individual first place finishes. After a perfect start to the week, Henry Piggott (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron) proved that consistency wins Regattas, placing first in the Optimist Open category.

The final class on the Alpha Course, the Open Skiff category was won by Corrado Dorrington from Mordialloc Sailing Club (VIC), with brothers Connor and Russell Harris (Whitsunday Sailing Club) sailing well to safely secure themselves second and third.

In the Laser 4.7 class, it was former world champion Breanne Wadley (Tinaroo Sailing Club) who dominated the field, winning five of her nine races and securing herself a first-place podium finish. After tight racing in the Laser Radial class, Hugo Ralph (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron) came out on top after a strong week of technical sailing, finishing just ahead of the first girl Frances Beebe (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron).

With three from three race wins on the final day, brothers Maximilian and Alexander Rott (Hervey Bay Sailing Club) demonstrated the importance of sailing strong until the end, moving up in the rankings and claiming first place in the Rs Feva class.

After waiting for the wind on day two and three of competition, the Windsurfers finished the Regatta with ten races under their belt. On the Charlie course, Jarrod Jones (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron) left it all out on the racetrack, placing first with a series score of ten.

In the 29er class, it was Lucas Patrick and Luke Rogers (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron) who gave a master class in sailing, winning eight out of their ten races and earning themselves the top spot on the podium. Competition in the Nacra15 class was strong, with Will Nobles and Hana-lena Jenkin (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron) finishing in first place after a hard-fought three days of racing.

Last but not least, the determination and commitment of the Green Fleet sailors was celebrated by volunteers, family and friends after their racing wrapped up on Saturday afternoon. It was a week of significant growth and fun for all, and the event looks forward to welcoming back all Green Fleet participants in 2023.

The 2022 QLD Youth Championships is the largest gathering of youth sailors in Queensland each year. Full and sincere thanks go to the many staff and volunteers that made the event happen.

In 2023, the QLD YouthSail event will be held from the 18-23 September.

For pictures of the event, be sure to visit Australian Sailing Youth on Facebook and Instagram.

Click here for a full list of results.