British 49er class welcome FX sailors to the fold
by Simon Hiscocks 8 May 2012 07:32 BST
The 49erFX is selected by the ISAF Council for the 2016 Olympics © ISAF
Following then recent announcement from ISAF of the 49er FX as the new woman's Olympic skiff the British 49er Class Association would like to welcome the FX to the class fold.
Hannah Diamond and Mary Rook have been keel hauled into the class association as female representatives and will look after the FX side of things as we look forward to an exciting finale to this season. That is not to say that the FX is not for boys, the rig looks fantastic and by all accounts will be the quickest way around the course in much over 18 knots. All will be welcomed to the National events with either rig.
Post Olympic games is often a quite time in an Olympic class however this year will see the 49er not only include a woman's fleet but also see a full schedule of events.
Lake Garda will host the European championships which will see the first ever use of a theater style medal race in a major championship. Starting on the 9th September until the15th keep your eyes posted on the International site 49er.org for more news on this event.
The home circuit then kicks of at the end off September with a National ranker on the 22nd and 23rd at the, by then, ex Olympic venue.
The British National championships at Weston will follow including the first ever FX Nationals. This unique event has a format that allows the choice of a 4, 3 or 2 day event.
It all starts with a training day on Thursday 4th October. A three race mini series will be run on the Friday with the overall scores of the Friday counting as one race result. Saturday and Sunday get a traditional 3-4 races a day. With one discard for the event its worth trying to come for the Friday warm up.
Another RYA ranker on the 13th and 14th October leads nicely into the Ovington inlands once again at Grafham Water over the weekend of 17th and 18th November.
So a busy autumn to wash away that Olympic hangover, with plenty of time to search out a used boat and join in the fun.
www.49er.org.uk