On 8th March Bay of Plenty Sailing Academy Trust hosted the 2022 Secondary Schools Teams Racing Regatta. Six teams from BOP Colleges competed. 

Teams Racing is a unique type of yachting competition which can be best described as match racing  3 boats against 3.  There are six sailors per team, 2 per boat.

Each team must sail against every other team and also they must sail in each group of 3 boats. Each group of boats is identified by a different colour of sail. With 6 teams it requires 15 races to get through one Round Robin.

A typical race will last 10 minutes or less. Scoring is simple, 1 point for 1st ; 2 points for 2nd etc.

The overall winner is the team that has the lowest score.

On Tuesday 8th March sailing was fast in 14-16 knot winds and the standard of racing very high, with the starts being tightly contested.

Racing is very tactically aggressive, with umpires following in a rib on the water to call any breach of the Rules. 

The results for 2022 were as follows:
1st  - 32 points - Tauranga Boys College who successfully defended their title .
2nd - 45 points - Katikati / Mount College – Combined Team
3rd – 52 points - Tauhara College
4th – 59 points - Otumoetai College
5th – 61 points -  ACG / Aquineas College – Combined Team
6th – 66 points Taupo Nui a Tia / Tauhara College – Combined Team

The results do not always reflect the fierce competition on the water. The most exciting race of the day was Race 15 –  Tauhara College  vs  ACG/Aquineas. This showed Team Tactics at it’s best and made for a very exciting race. We look forward to hosting the teams again in 2023.

All of the teams will now compete in the Central North Island Team Sailing Regatta to be held in Taupo on 27th - 29th March.