Key Information
Who is involved?
- Scottish Studend Sailing is an active and busy program administrated by the Scottish Student Sailing Committee and Scottish Student Sport. Scottish Student Sailing is an Association of Sailing Clubs in Scottish Universities, and annually elects a Chair who overlooks a committee of 8 other (elected) members to operate the programme on its behalf.
- BUCS also have a Sailing programme that SSS works in tandem with to coordinate events. All information about this can be found on the BUCS Website.
What is there?
- Many distinct competitive styles make up the Scottish Student Sailing year: Dinghy Team Racing, Dinghy Fleet Racing, Keelboat Match Racing, Keelboat Fleet Racing, and Yachting.
- Within the Team Racing discipline, there are three League Events and a Championship Event. The League weekends also function as qualifying for BUCS Events. Additionally there are two Scottish Student Sailing National Squads. SS Sailing Womens and SSS Mixed Squads are selected and compete in Team Racing fixtures across the UK. Finally an open SS Sailing Womens Team Racing event is hosted in Scotland annually.
- We try and host a Dinghy Fleet Racing event annually but scheduling conflicts make this not a certainty. This functions as a development opportunity for BUCS Fleet Racing.
- There is only one Match Racing event in Scotland each year: The Ceilidh Cup has been a great place for Scottish sailors to experience Match Racing.
- There is little in the way of Student Yachting in Scotland but there are plenty of opportunities for SS Sailing members to compete in Keelboat Fleet Racing both in student events as well as open events.
- There are plenty of development opportunities to partake in, so keep an eye out on our social media for all the updates!
When does this happen?
- The team racing league takes place over three weekends between November and February. The top four placed teams will secure a spot in the BUCS Team Racing Championship Finals. Teams placed 5th – 8th will be invited to trophy final where they compete again and the top three teams from trophy final are awarded wildcard entry to the Team Racing Championship Final.
- The SSS Keelboating Championship is also a one-off event, with the winners declared Scottish Universities Keelboat Champions. This is often also operated as a British Keelboat League event so the winners can secure a spot in the British Keelboat League Finals.
- For Match Racing, the main competitions that Scottish Universities attend are the Ceilidh Cup and the BUCS Match Racing Finals in April.
There are also open events organised by Scottish Universities during the year or open events that Scottish Universities regularly attend – check our social media for more timely information on such events.
Upcoming Sailing Events
Meet your Sports Chair
Izzy O’Farrell
4th year International Relations student Izzy currently studies at the University of Glasgow, but it was at home in Ireland when she first discovered sailing aged 8.
As a teenager she got her qualifications to teach the sport, while also getting into racing. The competitive streak carried forward into her time at university where she has been Dinghy Captain, Commodore and Vice-Commodore, and now Scottish Student Sailing Chair!
Why Volunteer?
“It’s a great way to give back to the sport. There’s a lot that goes into running the events and supporting the club and so joining your sport’s SSS committee is really way to get involved this way.
“The kit is a great encouragement too!”
Scottish Student Sailing Sports Group
Vice Chair: Megan Fant
Competitions Officer: James Gifford
Communications Officer: Anna Miller
Development Officer (Dinghy): Jacob Anderson
Development Officer (Keelboating): Oli Dunton