Six of the best

The International 14 fleet have selected the three lucky teams to recieve the use of an I14 for 2008

Three new teams will be joining the UK International 14 fleet for a busy season of competition, after securing the use of a top-flight Bieker 4 boat for the year. Four other young teams look set to get into this skiff class in the near future. This follows a tough day's racing at Hayling Island, when 20 teams came to battle it out for the loan boats in challenging winds of 16 to 19 knots.

The winning teams, all in their 20s, are:

· Ian Martin and Ian Sharps
· Tom Heywood and Ed Clay
· Tristan Jacques and Tom Dawson.

RYA National Racing Coach Harvey Hillary, himself a keen 14 sailor, was delighted with the turnout and the quality of sailing at the event. "What was impressive was how quickly these sailors got to grips with what are very challenging boats to sail well," he said. "We had a two-capsize rule where if you fell in twice in a race then you had to retire. Fortunately we didn't have to impose that rule too often. It goes to show just how much these sailors have learned from their years in the RYA Youth Squads and Olympic Development Squads."

In return for the use of the boat, along with other benefits such as brand new Hyde jib and three months' membership of Hayling Island Sailing Club, the sailors are expected to compete at a minimum of eight regattas throughout the year. Indeed, the top two teams from the weekend's racing still have ongoing commitments to their Olympic campaigns, and so Chris Rashley and Matt Gotrel and Dylan Fletcher and Alain Sign were unable to sign up to the requirements of the 14 boat loan contract.

Unfortunately with blizzard conditions on the Sunday morning at Hayling, Hillary made an early call to cancel racing for the day, which he later regretted. "The windchill in the morning was horrendous, but as it turned out the conditions improved and we probably could have raced after all," he said. As well as taking the results from Saturday's racing, Hillary and an interview panel sat down with the teams who were in line for one of the boats to discuss their plans and commitments. Although they finished sixth in the series, Jacques and Dawson secured the third spot based on their ability to commit to the 14 fleet and their enthusiasm about joining the racing circuit which is predominantly centred around Chichester Harbour.

Other teams might have been disappointed to miss out on a free boat for the year, but some had used the weekend as an opportunity to experience 14 racing at close quarters. Having done so, two other teams have decided to buy secondhand boats straight away, with another two also seriously considering getting into the class.

"We've been losing some great sailors from the Olympic development squad who think they've got nowhere to go once they decide that they no longer want to go Olympic campaigning," said Hillary. "Some of them drop out of high-level sailing altogether, because they don't see there's anywhere exciting for them to go. I think that after this weekend, some of those sailors have realised there is life after Olympic campaigning after all, and that it's in the 14 fleet. I look forward to racing against them in 2008. I'm sure they'll be particularly keen to see if they can beat the coach!"

The UK 14 class would like to thank:

· all those sailors who came to compete in the 14 Trials
· the three owners who have kindly lent their boats for the year – Matt Critchley, James Fawcett and Martin Jones
· the ten owners who lent their boats for the 14 Trials selection contest
· the sponsors who have contributed to the success of this event, Musto, Hyde Sails and Hayling Island Sailing Club.