18 year old John Beatty from East Down Yacht Club and 15 year old Rory Murphy of Quoile Yacht Club have been selected for the prestigious GBR National Youth Squad.
Both sail Laser Radial high performance single handed dinghies. John, who is supported by Lottery funding, retained his slot after an excellent fourth place in the UK National Championships at Largs.
Rory finished 19th in the 108 boat fleet in the same regatta and this achievement at the young age of 15 is proof of his outstanding potential.
He is the youngest of three brothers who are all members of the RYANI Youth Squad.
The third success for RYANI is that of Kylie McMillan (17) from Strangford Lough Yacht Club, who has gained a place on the Irish Youth Worlds team to compete in Korea in July. Kylie is a member of the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) Academy.
She also sails a Laser Radial.
With Russell and Matt McGovern and James Espey of Ballyholme and Debbie Hanna from East
Antrim currently on the Irish Olympic Squad, this is Northern Ireland's biggest ever representation at National Squad level.
John Beatty has picked up the
coveted Northern Ireland Young Sailor of the Year Award at the RYA
Northern Ireland's recent annual general meeting.
The 17-year-old is a member of the regional youth squad and races a
single-handed Laser Radial dinghy. John finished in bronze medal
position in the 108-strong fleet at the UK Laser Radial Youth
Championships in Wales and has been invited to join the Great Britain
youth squad.
He also finished
fourth youth in the 129-boat fleet at the UK Laser Radial National
Championships in Cornwall.
Then he competed in the Laser Radial European Championships organised by
Ballyholme Yacht Club that attracted 202 competitors from 21 countries.
John's achievements have also been recognised with funding under the New
Athlete Support Programme. The RYANI has put his name forward to
the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Award that recognises endeavour
and achievement by young sailors through the UK.