Haydn Sewell in action. Picture by Peter Newton Photography.
SAILING YOUNG sailor Haydn Sewell has been selected for Team GB, at the tender age of just ten.
Arreton Primary School pupil Haydn, a Royal Victoria Yacht Club sailor from Newport, has been selected to represent his country as a member of the Optimist sailing team which will compete at the 2013 Irish Nationals, in Laoghaire in August.
Selection for the team was based on combined rankings from the Optimist end-of-season and winter championships, which took place last year, with the top 20 under-12 sailors invited to join the British team.
In his first main fleet event, after moving up from the regatta fleet, Haydn finished 25th out of 208 in the end-of-season, and 23rd out of 101 in the winter championships to make him highest-ranked sailor, aged 12 and under, from the two events.
Over the winter, Haydn has been training regularly having secured a place in the RYA South Zone Training Squad at the end of last year and faces his first major event of the season, the spring championships, next weekend.
"Being selected for the British Optimist team is awesome," said Haydn. "I’m so excited about it already. One day I would like to sail in the Olympics so hopefully I will sail for Team GB again in the future."
Haydn’s winter training has been supported by Gurit through the Excellence Award he won last year and by Wightlink, through their sponsorship of his club.