BSDRA - Eastern Region Team Racing Championship 

The British Schools Dinghy Racing Association has a series of regional one-day competitions across the country, with the season culminating in a two-day finals' competition. The 2023 Eastern Championship was hosted by Oakham School at Rutland Sailing Club. The purple team, consisting of Sarah D, Ciara M, Merryn A, Daisy A, Toby S and Devon L, emerged undefeated, securing the championship with a flawless performance. They showcased exceptional teamwork and strategic prowess.   

NSSA - The Lancashire Silver Jubilee Plate

The National School Sailing Association hosts three events each year. The two-day Single Handed Team Racing Championship, sailed in Toppers, hosted by Bartley Sailing Club in 2023, includes the Lancashire Silver Jubilee Plate which is awarded to the team that gains the highest finishing position of all the teams that finished the first day in the bottom half of the league. Joel S, Will G and Florence O demonstrated exceptional resilience and tenacity across the two days of competition, finishing with 6 wins from their 11 races to end up 8th out of 21 teams. Their outstanding progress highlighted their commitment to continuous development of their sailing skills.   

RYA - Under 19 Women's Team Racing National Championship

The Royal Yachting Association hosts four team racing events each year, including a women only event. This combines an open competition with a British Universities Sailing Association (BUSA) competition and, for the first time this year, an under 19 competition. In January 2023, six of our female sailors competed at Rutland Sailing Club, overcoming challenging conditions. Led by Nicole S, Millie L, Georgie S, Grace CR-B, Audrey F, and Sophia D won the silver league and secured the under 19 trophy with a perfect second day—7 wins out of 7 races.   

Itchenor Sailing Club - Gavin's Tray

Since 1953, Itchenor Sailing Club have held the famous National Schools Championship each summer. Providing fleet racing for RS Fevas and Fireflies, it is a major event in the calendar. Last year, Toby S and Harriet G showcased their sailing prowess, claiming second place in the Firefly category. Their outstanding performance showed their immense skill in fleet racing, winning two races with three seconds across their seven races. 

Itchenor Sailing Club - National Schools Championship Firefly Team Prize 

The team prize at the National Schools Championship was awarded to the school with the best aggregate score from their top three boats, our senior team, led by Thomas D, secured the team prize, with the three boats finishing second, sixth and seventh overall. This resulted in a winning margin of 12 points from Magdalen College School, Oxford. 

BSDRA - The Rondar Shield - British School Team Racing National Champions 

The pinnacle of school sailing, The Rondar Shield is awarded to the winner of the BSDRA Finals. In 2023, the finals were held at the Norfolk Broads Yacht Club over two days in June. The blue team faced tough competition but finished day one unbeaten. The only team to win all ten of their races. On day two, they progressed to the gold league where they, again, won all of their races but were deducted a race win following a protest hearing. In the semi-final they beat Rutland Sailing Club 2 - 0 to progress to the final. Here they triumphed against Magdalen College School, Oxford, winning the final 2 - 1. The triumphant blue team, led by Thommie G, comprised Harriet G, Nicole S, Millie L, Sebastian K and Daisy C, put the RHS name on this trophy for the first time in its 34-year history.  

RYA - Youth National Team Racing Championship

Arguably the biggest event in the calendar, this is a competition run by the RYA that is open to any under 19 teams to enter - schools, sailing clubs, class associations, group of friends, etc. It is a tightly fought competition that RHS has steadily improved in since first entering in 2018. After finishing runners up last year and third the year before, 2023 was finally our year. The purple team, led by Sarah D, won eight of their nine races on day one and four of their five races on day two, including the crucial head-to-head with Rutland Sailing Club that proved to clinch the title. The dominance of RHS in the Youth Competition, with all three teams advancing to the gold league, and ultimately finishing first, third and fifth, showcased the depth of talent at RHS.   

NSSA - Match Racing National Championship 

Since 2004, this trophy has been awarded to the top placed NSSA team at the Schools Match Racing Championship. In 2021, Seb K, Thommie G, Paddy M, and Grace P retained the title, won by Will P, Flo N and Far V in 2019. Competing in RS21 keelboats at Queen Mary Sailing Club against nine other teams, the RHS team's remarkable resilience and skill shone through, winning six out of nine races in the round robin and then winning the petit final against Royal Grammar School Guildford to finish third overall and top NSSA team.   

Dedicated to the BSDRA in 1990 by the Royal Thames Yacht Club, the Whitstable Trophy is awarded each year to the highest placed British school at the BSDRA Finals. Thommie G, Harriet G, Nicole S, Millie L, Seb K and Daisy C earned the highest-placed school award, along with the Rondar Shield at the BSDRA Finals in 2023. Their performance proved the school's consistent excellence in team racing competitions. 

Suffolk Schools Regatta Team Trophy - 2019   

Up until the pandemic in 2020, the Suffolk Water Sport Association ran an annual Suffolk Schools Regatta. With fleet racing for a range of different classes and fleets, this was always an excellent day of racing at the end of the summer term. RHS have been the perpetual winners of the team trophy for some time now and we hope that this regatta will once again run and provide an opportunity for all the RHS sailors to get on the water and enjoy some racing against other school sailors. 

NSSA - HMY Britannia's Gig's Yokes 

Presented to the RYA in 1958 by Skipper H. Stroud, this trophy is presented to the winners of the NSSA Single Handed Team Racing Championship. Skipper H Stroud served as mate aboard King George V's 221 ton racing cutter ‘Britannia’, built in 1899. In 1936, after King George V's death, Britannia was stripped of her fittings, towed out to sea and scuttled. The crew were invited to take the fittings as mementos, Skipper Stroud took the pair of yokes, had them mounted and presented them to the RYA. The RYA assigned them as the Skipper Stroud Trophy for annual team racing competition by schools. They were first awarded in 1976 and, in 2022, RHS won them for the first time. Sarah D, Tom T and Merryn A triumphed in the NSSA Single Handed Team Racing Championship, showing strategic brilliance and consistent performance throughout the two days of competition to secure the title and the prestigious HMY Britannia's Gig's Yokes. 

BSDRA - Keelboat Championship 

A relatively new competition, first organised by RHS in 2018, the keelboat championship takes the model of the British Keelboat League and applies it to school sailing for an annual two-day event. Will P, Paddy M, Ben W, and Boris H emerged victorious in 2021 to retain the title RHS first won in 2019. 15 teams competed, with the Pink Team's effective sail trimming, teamwork, and podium finishes placing them head and shoulders above the rest of the field. With the RHS Blue Team also finishing second, the competition highlighted the adaptability of RHS sailors to keelboat racing.