Rye Rebels are this years winners of the Windsurfing 4 Cancer Research (W4CR) David Tuttlebee Memorial Trophy.

Together the Rye Rebels and everyone involved at Rye Watersports raised over £4,500 for the Watersports 4 Cancer Research Sunrise Sunset Fundraising Challenge.

Well done to all the team at Rye Watersports especially the Rye Rebels and those intrepid windsurfers who sailed a marathon on the water in some very demanding windy conditions.

A special mention to young Jake Archer, 9, who has raised over £1,600 fantastic effort and Tom Alexander, 12, who raised over £600. 

Jake and Tom were two of eight Rye Rebels’ Team 15 youngsters who took part in the W4CR event. The boys sailed the equivalent of crossing the English Channel throughout a very windy day, with gusts of 40 knots, to successfully reach their 26 mile goal.

Team 15 is the RYA’s youth windsurfing development programme making windsurfing more accessible and appealing to kids aged 15 and under at grassroots level. 

Rye Rebels, which has been going for three years, has seen around 25 active members this year with no fewer than 13 new youngsters, the Rebels’ best uptake since their initial launch, getting involved in Team 15 for the first time in 2013.

The trophy is awarded every year to the RYA Team 15 team who takes part in the W4CR Sunrise Sunset fundraising day and is judged to have put on the best ‘fun’ fundraising event combined with a windsurfing challenge.

Brian Roake, Chairman W4CR, said: "On behalf of the W4CR trustees I would like to congratulate everyone at Rye Watersports and of course those intrepid Rye Rebels for a truly amazing fundraising achievement. Thank you to Maggie and Steve at the centre for organising the event and supporting W4CR."

For more information about Rye Rebels visit www.ryewatersports.co.uk or to learn more about W4CR visit www.w4cr.org