🌊 JW 2025: A Legendary Adventure!
We may not have had tropical sunshine this year, but the energy, camaraderie, and sheer joy of Junior Week more than made up for it, as always! Even the wasps wanted to join in!!
Some feedback we’ve received:
“I think junior week is a really fun week where you can both improve your sailing skills and make new friends.”
“This was my first junior week at this club and I really enjoyed it”
“A really fun week to meet new people as well as build your confidence on the water”
“It is the highlight of their year! They talk about it far more than any other activities or camps they do. Their personal confidence, self- reliance and problem solving skills have blossomed thanks to Junior Week.”
🧜♀️ This Year’s Theme was:
Our juniors dived headfirst into a week of sailing, splashing, and spirited competition. Yellow, Blue and Pink teams battled it out with rebranded classics that kept everyone on their toes, and often in the water!
Led once again by our dynamic duo, Senior Instructors Sam and Ellen, and supported by a stellar team of coaches (all Junior Week alumni themselves), the week was packed with imaginative challenges and rebranded classics.
Here’s a glimpse of what they got up to:
- Goldilocks and the Three Bottles: We began the week with the Juniors decorating their own water bottles to make them ‘just right’ – after a suggestion from a parent last year that bottles might be better than refilling small beakers at break.
This proved to be a brilliant idea, as it meant that the juniors could hydrate whenever they wanted to, with the shore team just refilling the bottles at break times… and much less washing up! By the end of the week we’d collectively consumed TWENTY ONE LITRES of squash – that’s 4x the amount they drank last year!!
- Hansel & Gretel: In a themed twist on an old classic, the teams sailed and paddled their boats to collect ‘breadcrumbs’ (ball pit balls) from the lake.
- Fairy Godmother Rescue: Three poor Fairy Godmother coaches were kidnapped and abandoned in the middle of the lake (some were more excited about this than others!)! But it’s OK, the teams brought them all safely to shore.
- Knights Battle: One by one, brave gladiators faced off in a winner-stays-on battle of balance and cunning with pugil sticks.
- Jack-Be-Nimble Obstacle Course: We made them run, jump, crawl and more!
- Rub-A-Dub-Dub Rafts: We had them building and racing their own crafts… with mixed success!
- Boat BOV: After a week of perfecting their BOV skills on land, they took to the water for the ultimate test of concentration, balance, and sogginess!
- Jack and the Boatstalk: and of course, we finished the week with a FOSSC tradition – mast climbing!
Everyone had lots of fun!
🏆 And the Winners Are…
After a week of fierce but friendly competition, the Pink Team emerged victorious, having led in the points from Monday. The result was never really in any doubt, despite double-points Friday coming into play – they were a full 21 points ahead of the blue and yellow teams who tied for second place!
The coveted Peter Crowley Trophy, awarded to the junior who best embodied the spirit of Junior Week, went to Alex Kirk. While other Juniors were considered, Alex’s enthusiasm, kindness, and sportsmanship – throwing himself into every challenge – made him a standout and a unanimous decision by the coaches.
🙌 Thank You!
To Sam, Ellen, and the coaching team – your energy, creativity, and dedication are the heartbeat of Junior Week. You make magic happen, and we’re endlessly grateful.
Thanks to our coach photographer and all the parents who shared their AMAZING photos – you did a great job!
To the parents, grandparents, and other volunteers thank you for galley duty, safety boat stints, marquee wrangling, cake baking, and everything in between. For those who stepped up and saw something needed doing and did it without asking, thank you, your quiet heroism keeps the week running smoothly.
To the coordination team – Ellen Brooks, Sam Callen, and Callum Pearce – thank you for your wisdom, humour, and support. You make it possible for a non-sailor like me to help steer this ship!
📣 Bookings Now Open for Junior Week 2026!
Mark your calendars: next year’s dates are 3rd–7th August 2026. Early Bird Registration is already open – book now to lock in 2025 rates! Register here
And tell your friends! We have spaces for up to 44 juniors, and this year we only had 26 participants – despite opening it up to other local sailing clubs – we’d really love to have more people enjoying the fun. There’s plenty of time for them to sign up for the RYA 1+2 courses next year!
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