It was the RYA's South Zone who walked away basking in the winners glory today (9 May) as the 2010 RYA Eric Twiname Championships came to a close on Rutland Water. Following the bitter disappointment of last years competition, which saw them miss out on the glory after a tie-break situation, the South team clinched the overall winning Zone crown in emphatic style this time round.        

Having endured pretty testing high winds and driving rain yesterday, the concluding day of the championships bought with it far more favourable conditions for 325 competitors at the event, with the sun coming out of hiding and the wind speed dropping from 20 to 10-15 knots. As a result the days full complement of three races took place allowing for some swapping of places at the top of the fleets and the South Zone to emerge as the new Eric Twiname Champions.  

In clinching their victory the South Zone also won the Eric Twiname Dinghy Trophy, awarded to the Zone with top overall Dinghy score, while the North got their hands on the Eric Twiname Windsurfing Trophy, awarded to Zone with top overall Windsurfing score.  

Girl power proved victorious in the events brand new Feva class as South Zone duo Anna Prescott, 13, and Jessica Eales, 12, sealed the class victory, doing it in impressive style winning all but one of their races over the two days. The South East's boys Barnaby Blackstone, 13 / Ben Moverley Smith, 14, made do with second place finishing nine points behind.  

And it was the South Zones Shorrock brothers Matthew, 13, and Ben, 10, who wrapped up event honours in the Cadet class notching up double-bullets in their six races with fellow South team mates Will Davis and Jack Collings clinching more points for the Zone finishing up in third.      

Northern Ireland sailor Jack Brien, 13, keep a cool head today having lead the Topper fleet at close of play yesterday, and posted good enough results to see him clinch the class victory at his second ET event.  

There was a big shake up in the Optimist fleet as the South East Zone's 11-year-old James Scott jumped a massive 12 places in the class from 13th on day one to first today knocking overnight leader Max Spedding of the podium. The results saw James scoop the class event title having rounded off a cracking day with a win in his penultimate race and a second in his last. Ellen Greenwell, 13, finished top girl lying 13th overall.    

James commented: "It feels really good to be holding the Optimist trophy - I really wasn't expecting to be winning it this year!  I had to really concentrate and keep focused and I just did it. I made a plan of the race and just made sure I stuck to it and just sailed it and didn't let anyone else stop me."  

The North Zones Grayson family continued their dominance of the Mirror class on day two, holding on to their first and second placings of Saturdays proceedings with Edward Grayson, 15  / Matthew Foster, 12,  posting bullets in all five of their races after discards holding onto the top of the table. Sisters 15 year-old Emma and 11 year-old Rachel Grayson took second.  

The windsurfing fleets saw dominance in 4.5m fleet from North zone sailor Sarah Labourne, 11, who posted bullets in all but one of her races to collect the crown with fellow north Zone sailor Luke Patrick, 14, achieving three bullets in his 7.8m races to clinch his event victory.   In the 6.8m's past Team15 sailor Henry Bloodworth, 11, had a great closing day posting two seconds and one first to claim his class win for the South East with South West sailor Daniel Wilson, 11, also having a great day posting back-to-back bullets knocking the North zones Saturday night 5.8m leader Harry Davis off top spot.       

Meanwhile, with the event also doubling up as the first part of the selection process for the 2010 Laser 4.7 National Junior Squad, Snaith's Henry Wetherell, 13, has been on stunning form over the two days dropping just one second place to post perfect bullets in all his races, after discard, and scoop event victory. Andrew Bridgman, 15, picked up second place, sixteen points behind Wetherell, with Robert Dyer in third and Megan O'Brien, 13, finishing top girl, fifth overall, having posted a very credible second in one of her races.    

Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager, said: "I was particularly impressed with the tenacity of the competitors on Saturday and the quality of boat/board handling demonstrated in what were really quite breezy, and cold conditions. The sailors and coaches have obviously worked hard over the winter and I suspect the cold spell in January was the ideal preparation for Saturday! It's been a really worthy test for the winners with all the races being fiercely contested.  

"I hope the experience will prove an ideal platform for the sailors to go on and contest National Junior Squad selections throughout this season. I look forward to seeing how the sailors progress throughout this and future years," he concluded.  

John Derbyshire, RYA Racing Manager / Performance Director added: "The RYA Eric Twiname Championships are a fundamental rung in the development ladder for the young sailors, some of whom will have started at the absolute grassroots through the RYA's OnBoard and Team15 programmes and for those who we hope will eventually go on to represent Britain as seniors at the World's biggest Olympic Classes regattas."  

Full results and further event information can be found at the RYA Racing Events website at www.ryaracingevents.org.uk .   

2010 RYA Eric Twiname Championships Results:

Overall winners of the Eric Twiname Shield:

1)    South

2)    North

3)    South West  

Dinghies: Optimist class:

1) James Scott

2) Alex Platt

3) Sam Tweedle

Winning Zone: South  

Topper class:

1)Jack Brien

2) William Tarn-Chapman

3) Hamish Streeter

Winning Zone: East  

Cadet class:

1) Matthew Shorrock / Ben Shorrock

2) James Turl / Chris Turl

3) Will Davis / Jack Collings

Winning Zone: South     

Feva class:

1) Anna Prescott / Jessica Eales      

2) Barnaby Blackstone / Ben Moverley Smith

3) Jack Smith / Ollie Wright

Winning Zone: South  

Mirror class:

1) Edward Grayson / Matthew Foster

2) Emma Grayson / Rachael Grayson

3) William Hartley / Ben Webb

Winning Zone: North  

Dinghy overall winning Zone:

1) South

2) East

3) North  

Windsurfers: Bic Techno 4.5

1)  Sarah Labourne

2)  Joseph Patrick

3)  Ella Milne

Winning Zone: North  

Bic Techno 5.8

1) Daniel Wilson

2) Harry Davis

3) Nick Sylvester

Winning Zone: South West  

Bic Techno 6.8

1) Henry Bloodworth

2) Lewis May

3) Mark Reynolds

Winning Zone: North  

Bic Techno 7.8

1) Luke Patrick

2) Matthew Barton

3) Guy Dixon

Winning Zone: North  

Windsurfing overall winning Zone:

1)    North

2)    South West

3)    South  

Laser 4.7 indicator results:

1) Henry Wetherell

2) Andrew Bridgman

3) Robert Dyer