Welcome to the ITCA (GBR) website. My name is Tom Dixon and I am delighted to be the current chairman of the Topper Class Association. Like almost everyone else involved I have one sailor who has progressed through Toppers and another still actively involved.

The Association is run by a broad team, almost entirely comprising volunteers who form the national committee. It works hard to deliver our website, our magazine Topper Times, open coaching, squads, regional and national events. We strive to get it right but if you spot an area we can improve or have a special skill we would welcome you as part of the team.

Susan Wellerd is our part time secretary running most of the association activities. As well as finding her at most of the national events Susan runs our office whose normal opening hours are:

Tuesday 12:30pm - 4:30pm
Thursday 5:00pm - 9:00pm
Friday 8:30am - 12:30pm

Susan can answer most queries but outside of these hours please either leave a voicemail message (01692 670124) or email [email protected].

 
Events
The largest event of the year is the Crewsaver National Championships, held last year in Pwllheli and this year at WPNSA (Weymouth) in early August. As well as the sailing there are social activities and a regatta fleet for the less experienced sailors.

The World Championships will be in Loctudy, France, in late July. Details of all events, be they regional, national or international can be found on the Calendar on the homepage.

Whilst our emphasis is racing we try not to forget it needs to be fun, welcoming and helpful to all sailors.

Background
ITCA (GBR) has been around since 1976 and currently has around 700 members. We really enjoy our position as being regarded as The Friendly Class, not only amongst the sailors, but also shore-side parents and supporters who are always happy to help one another and promote good sportsmanship.

Although the Topper is predominantly sailed by juniors and enjoys the position as part of the RYA Junior Pathway programme, we have sailors of all ages at our events.The current suggested weight guideline is between 47 and 63kg, but again there are many sailors either side of this guideline enjoying sailing their Topper and competing at a high standard.

The introduction of the smaller 4.2m sail has brought younger and lighter sailors into the Topper. We now have a dedicated National Championship for Topper 4.2 sailors, a World Championship, and a Summer Championship which runs at the same time as the 5.3 Nationals. All this means a fantastic introduction to Topper sailing before moving onto the larger and more powerful 5.3m rig.

Coaching and Squads
The bedrock of our race coaching is delivered through the nine regions and administered by our Area Representatives, who work with high quality coaches at a range of inland and sea venues. This open coaching is available to all class members and will tend to be run over the autumn and winter period, ready for the new season.

All the Area Representatives can be emailed from the Contact Us page of this site, and coaching dates can either be found in the News section, Calendar or the speific Area pages.

We work closely with the RYA to deliver one of the world's most extensive race training programmes for sailors under 16. This is achieved through the RYA Zone Squads, the National Junior Squad and the National Junior Intermediate Squad. Selection for these squads takes place in September/October each year with qualifying events and applications required during the preceding months.

In addition, ITCA (GBR) has its own Racing Squad and 4.2 National Squad which compliment the RYA initiatives and also support sailors whose age might not fit with the RYA selection criteria.

Further information on all the squads is available from the Race Coaching & Squads pages of this website. As selection notices are posted for the squads, news will appear on the home page.

Information specifically related to the RYA Squads can be found by following this link.

Racing
At a regional level you will find a Traveller Series within each of the nine ITCA (GBR) areas, again administered by the appropriate Area Representative. Each series consists of around ten events with one of the series being an Area Championship.

At a national level we have the National Series which is made up of 5 weekend events at venues in England, Scotland and Wales and sponsored once again by Craftinsure. The largest of these events so far topped 250 boats at Weymouth in 2010, but typically expect to find around 200.

In addition, we have the Inland Championships which are held at Grafham Water Sailing Club over the May Day Bank holiday weekend. This event has a truly special atmosphere and for many sailors might be their first taste of a large National Championship. Camping and motorhomes are allowed on site (must be booked in advance) which adds to the atmosphere.

The Sailing Solutions Topper 4.2 National Championships are held over a summer weekend and attract around 50 sailors for their own dedicated event.