William wins grand prize in RS Design a Sail competition
by Emma Slater, RYA 2 Mar 2014 15:54 UTC
1 March 2014
Winner William James with British Sailing Team sailor Chloe Martin © Paul Wyeth
Yesterday at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show 2014 seven year old William James from Torquay was crowned winner of the national RS Design a Sail competition 2014 and clinches the top prize of his very own RS Tera dinghy.
Picked from 190 entries and from a shortlist of five very different and spectacular finalists, William's winning design depicted the letters RS with a union jack design through the letters which caught the judge's eye.
Watch the all the action from the prize giving and hear from our winner and Jon Partridge from RS.
William, was joined at the show by his mum, dad and brother and was presented his prize by Jon Partridge, Sales Director, RS and British Sailing Team sailor Chloe Martin. When asked how he felt about winning, a slightly stunned William said: "I feel very good", although later confessed he did think he would win!
Not only does William claim his own brand new dinghy, but as an additional element to the prize package for 2014, RS will donate a further two dinghies to William's sailing club, the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, so they can establish their own RS Tera fleet and give other youngsters at the club the opportunity to sail these wonderful dinghies.
Jon Partridge, Sales Director, RS commented: "With so many fantastic entries it was really hard choosing the overall winner but we decided on William's design as it really captured the essence of RS and were we have come from.
"RS is passionate about the sport and its longevity and this competition is great way to engage youngsters and by introducing the club element of the competition it also helps support club's training and racing and building the RS fleet."
The competition to design a sail for an RS Tera dinghy was open to all youngsters aged 16 and under 16.
The 2014 finalists were:
Nathan Lumbard, 11, from Cranleigh
Olivia Bracey-Davis, 10, from Winchester
Monique Vennis, 10, from Farnham
Isabella Shepard, 12, from Nutley
All the finalists were given a framed photo of their winning design and a hoodie courtesy of RS, pink for the girls and blue for the boys.