Weekend Warriors out in the cold
To celebrate the 20th Tiger Trophy and the 17th dedicated to the memory of John, Rutland Sailing Club are hosting the Tiger Dinner on the Saturday evening of this year's Rutland Challenge for the John Merricks Tiger Trophy (Feb 2nd & 3rd).
To reflect the economic mood of the country, ticket prices have been cut to £15 with £5 of this going to the John Merricks Sailing Trust. A proportion of the bar profits is also going to the Trust along with 50% of the regatta fee. It is hoped that people will stay and support both the club and the trust.
Rod Carr CBE, past CEO of the RYA, the person intimately associated with British Olympic sailing over the last 20 years and who helped deliver a successful Olympic regatta to the World last year as 'Field of Play' manager will be recounting some of his Olympic experiences as Guest of Honour.
As a Trustee of the John Merricks Sailing Trust he will also provide an opportunity on Saturday evening for sailors under 25 looking to discuss the possibilities of 'leg-up' funding to further their sailing careers.
It is hoped that some members of the British team will also be able to attend within their busy programme of selection for the forthcoming Olympic round. Stuart Bithell, the Olympic Silver medallist who benefitted with a grant from the Trust at the start of his career has had to forego 'bangers and mash' for the exotic shores of Miami where he is joining the others in one of the ISAF World Cup events of this year.
John won silver with Ian Walker in the 470, along with Ben Ainslie in the Laser, at the Atlanta games in 1996 at the very start of British success. He was helped at the beginning of his sailing career by Tony Everard, then Chairman of Everards Brewery, and this 'seed corn' funding is the basis of the Trust's policy. The Trust was established after his untimely death in an accident while competing at the Melges 24 Europeans in 1997.
The Rutland Challenge for the John Merricks Tiger Trophy will retain its traditional format of three races on Saturday 2nd Feb and a non-discardable pursuit race on Sunday. It joins the other five venues for the GJW SailJuice Winter Series and is 'non-discardable' as the closing regatta in that series. A joint prizegiving will be held for both the Tiger and the GJW SailJuice Winter series with lots of prizes!
