Chipstead Sailing Club

Chipstead SC Achievers - Hugo Valentine

RYA Youth Award winner 2020

We are delighted to announce that Hugo Valentine has been selected as this year’s winner of the London & South East RYA Regional Youth Award 2020. Hugo was selected by a regional panel after being nominated by Ian Cobb.

Prize Presentation

The RYA has invited Hugo, along with 2 guests, to the RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace on Sunday 1st March at 1.15pm, for a presentation on the main stage. After the presentation Hugo will be invited to meet a member of the British Sailing Team.

WPNSA Prize Package

Along with the presentation at the Dinghy Show, the winners are also invited to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on Thursday 28th & Friday 29th May 2020

This once in a lifetime prize includes:

  • A tour of the British Sailing Team Performance Unit in Portland (Thursday afternoon)
  • One night accommodation for Hugo and one parent/guardian at RYA Portland House
  • An evening meal prepared by the British Sailing Team chef
  • Breakfast
  • Sailing with members of the British Sailing Team at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (Friday 29th May)
  • Lunch at WPNSA

For those of you who don’t know Hugo, Ian Cobb’s nomination submission stated that:-

Hugo has been sailing Toppers at Chipstead SC for the past 5 years. During that time he has become a very capable and keen club sailor climbing steadily up through the Junior/Youth ranks to become one of the top Juniors at the club. Hugo can often be seen battling it out with seasoned adult class sailors on a weekly basis during the Clubs Topper Points Series.

In 2019 Hugo decided to concentrate on expanding his sailing knowledge and to gain experience, has taken part in a number of away events. Hugo competed at the Island Barn Reservoir Topper Open coming in 1st out of 76 competitors after five hard fought races.

In September Hugo took part at the British Youth Sailing Regional Junior Championships 2019 - London & South East, at Datchet Water SC where he was placed in the top 10 for all six races achieving 6th overall, Hugo achieved a 2nd place in Race two and a 3rd place in Race 6.

In addition to his open meeting successes Hugo also competed in Chipstead SC events during 2019 winning the Saturday Junior Handicap series, the Commodores Cup and taking third place in the Topper Points Series only just missing out against two very experienced adult sailors (Hugo was the first placed junior).

Hugo’s aim in 2020 is to participate in the Topper World Championships in Italy at Garda. In his bid to succeed in this aspiration Hugo has participated in a number of London and South East Topper Traveller events where he achieved 4th at Bough Beech SC and 7th at Downs SC.

At club level Hugo is a role model for up and coming sailors, encouraging them to join in with racing within the class and passing on his enthusiasm and love for the sport. At the Saturday Junior club, we always try to acknowledge the achievements of our juniors to help advertise what is available outside of the club and what can be achieved for those wanting to take their sailing to the next level. Hugo will always encourage others to try other events so that they can gain experience sailing in different locations and different weather conditions.

What is notable for Hugo is that he has been able to make a mark in a very competitive field over the last year. It was tough initially for him to go from being one of the top sailors within the club to accepting that he may not always come first or second when participating at away open events but Hugo has shown is that he is adaptable and quick to learn and more than happy to accept advice, which has helped him to succeed to date.

Hugo has been selected for the London and SE Zone Squad for 2020.

On the racecourse Hugo will always act professionally and will always show respect to others when racing. As a club we quite often have Juniors and Adults racing at the same time, Hugo shows a great respect towards older members of the Topper Class as he is fully aware that there is a great wealth of knowledge to tap into.

Hugo is a great sportsperson and will always acknowledge and congratulate those that were racing.

 

Well done Hugo from all of us!!