NEILSON BACKS TEAM 15 WINDSURFERS

In time for the school summer holidays the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) is delighted to announce that Neilson, the active holiday expert, has agreed to renew its sponsorship of team15.

Team15 (T15) is a RYA youth sport initiative encouraging young people aged 15 and under to get involved in windsurfing. A network of over 80 clubs, T15 meet on a weekly basis to provide youngsters with everything they need to know about windsurfing.

Once the youngsters have built up their confidence they can join inter-regional competitions, with the best 15 windsurfers from each club representing their club.

Windsurfing is a healthy sporting option for today’s youth – and something a little bit different to the usual ball sports or team sports which tend to be on offer during the holidays. Windsurfing is taken up by all kinds of people, but often by those who are not into main-stream sports. From flying across the water, the all season sport can give windsurfers an adrenalin rush, which along with the freedom it brings and typically a new outdoor lifestyle, once bitten windsurfers stay fans for life. It opens up countless opportunities for learning new skills, trying a whole range of other watersports and can lead to a wide range of exciting career opportunities.

Neilson has supported the T15 programme over the last three years and are delighted with the success of the programme in encouraging young people to get active. Joe Lynch, Neilson Head of Product & Marketing, commented: “Young people can receive a lot of bad publicity about their lifestyles, but we are delighted to be working with and recognising those youngsters who put the effort in, get out there and work hard on the water. Team15 mirrors our philosophy, enjoy yourself and “relax as hard as you like”….I remember learning to windsurf at the age of 12, just for a laughs. Little did I realise that it would lead to a career in the sailing and travel industry.”

The T15 clubs have a great mix of girls and boys of all ages. The clubs are really friendly and all safety aspects are taken care of – the sessions are run at RYA approved centres with RYA trained instructors and T15 coaches. Equipment is available if you don’t have your own but advanced booking is essential. Whether you windsurf already or fancy learning this holiday, the likes of the Croft Farm Flyers, Bosworth Bullets and Surf Store Allstars would love to hear from you – what are you waiting for? Visit the website for further information -www.team15.org.uk- you’ll find all the T15 clubs listed in ‘THE ZONE ZONE’.

Gillian Horne, RYA National Windsurfing Development Officer commented: “We currently have over 1500 children who regularly windsurf with T15 clubs. T15 is going from strength to strength, and is growing all the time. Neilson staying on board is a real boost and will help the programme to expand further, providing yet more children around the UK with the opportunity to get involved.”