!rish Sailors Head to Split for ILCA U21 Europeans
Split, Croatia,18th – 25th October
Ireland will be represented by seven talented young sailors at the upcoming 2025 ILCA Under-21 European Championships in Croatia. This prestigious event will bring together more than 240 competitors from across Europe to the coastal city of Split for eight days of racing in both ILCA 7 (Men’s) and ILCA 6 (Women’s) fleets.
Several of Irish Sailing’s development and pathway sailors will be aiming to leave their mark on the 2025 season. Lucy Ives (Royal St. George YC) will represent Ireland in the ILCA 6 class, while ILCA 7 Development Squad sailors Fiachra McDonnell (Royal Irish YC) and Bobby Driscoll (Ballyholme YC) will compete.
This event will serve as preparation for Ballyholme’s Bobby Driscoll ahead of his final event of the year, the Youth World Sailing Championships in Portugal. Fiachra McDonnell will be looking to build on his 11th place at the U21 World Championships in Dun Laoghaire in August.
Tom Coulter (East Antrim Boat Club), Andrew Kingston (Royal Cork YC) and Brian Carroll (Kinsale YC) are set to take part as well.
Split’s conditions are expected to pose a different challenge to what many sailors will have experienced earlier in the season, with coastal winds, thermal effects and gust shifts near the shore. Building on the momentum of what these sailors have learned sailing on home waters for the U21 Worlds we are excited to see how they can progress at this championship.
Check in on our channels to see how sailors are getting on and the results page here.