ILCA (“Laser”) Youth Group
The ILCA is the Olympic single-handed class for both men and women. It is the biggest and most active dinghy class in the UK with an extensive open training programme and competition at the highest level. So it is an excellent boat for young sailors to develop their skills in, gives them the opportunity to compete against Olympic-standard athletes and provides a pathway to the very highest levels of international sailing.
The ILCA Youth Group at Frensham is a fantastic place to start!
About the ILCA
ILCAs* were originally designed by Bruce Kirby in 1971 as a low cost, low maintenance beach boat known (and still often referred to) as “Lasers”. They are a one-design dinghy still true to the original design, meaning old boats can still compete successfully at Club level, but additional rigs have been introduced to cater for a wider range of crew weights and the sail controls have been improved. A lot! With over 220,000 boats registered world-wide it is by far the largest of all the dinghy classes.
The ILCA is an RYA-recognised Pathway Boat with Regional Junior (U16) and National Youth (U19) squads. The British Sailing Squad and British Sailing team offer further progression for the very best sailors right up to the Olympics. The UKLA (UK Laser Association) runs a very extensive event programme, so you can race an ILCA against different competitors away from Frensham pretty much every week-end of the year. The UKLA also organises regular open training weekends around the country, but notably at WPNSA (Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy).
ILCAs have three rig sizes - you change the sail and the lower mast section but everything else stays the same. So a boat with all three rigs gives lots of options for a family and weather codnitions.
ILCA 4 with a 4.7 square metre sail (“Laser 4.7”) suitable for lightweight sailors 45 - 65 Kg
ILCA 6 with a 5.7 square metre sail (“Laser Radial”) suitable for crew weights 55 - 75 Kg. Women’s Olympic class.
ILCA 7 with a 7 square metre sail (“Laser Standard”) suitable for crew weights 75 - 95 Kg. Men’s Olympic class.
There are no age or gender restrictions for competing with any of the rigs although at national events there may be specific prizes based on age/gender. At international events ILCA 6s are usually split by gender.
*ILCA - International Laser Class Asociation Dinghy
Training at Frensham
The ILCA Youth group is open to all youngsters at the Club, catering for skill levels from RYA Youth Stage 3 upwards. So if you can sail a triangular course and navigate yourself around the Pond or fancy your chances at top end of the fleet then come and join in! We aim to get our young sailors racing and competing at the Club and ultimately to give them the confidence to enter open meetings and events. A number of our young ILCA sailors have progressed through the RYA squad system and compete at national or international events.
The ILCA Youth Group normally meets on Saturday mornings. We rig the boats, run a briefing and / or some on-shore training, get changed and go sailing for a couple of hours!
We are back on shore in time for some lunch before Saturday afternoon racing.
Exact timing does varies throughout the year so please check with the Class Captain.
Club Boat Hire
The Club has three ILCAs with 4, 6 & 7 rigs which can be hired for weekly training, club racing or events. To find out more about booking a club boat click here.
Class Captain: Ann Brand
Class Associations
UK Laser Class Association: https://ilca.uk
European Class Association website: https://eurilca.org/
International Class Association website: https://www.laserinternational.org/