Pitsford Pirates will be hoping that 2012 is the year they are crowned the UK’s best young windsurfing team when they get their 2012 Team15 Midlands Inter-Club Challenge Series season underway at Carsington Water, Derbyshire on Saturday (19 May).

The Pirates have won the regional championship title for the past two years, twice qualifying them for the national Team15 Champions Cup final, where some 100 sailors from nine other regions do battle for the title of Britain’s top Team15 outfit. Last year Pirates improved on their seventh place finish of 2010 to claim a massively impressive third spot.

The 2012 regional series kicks off at Carsington, the home of the Pirates’ perennial rivals, the Carsington Comets, who will be desperate to reclaim their mantle as the region's top team. As well as Pirates and Comets from the east of the region, there is expected to be a strong challenge from the west from Edgbaston Eagles and Croft Farm Flyers.

Team15 is the RYA’s youth windsurfing development programme, enabling kids aged 15 and under to learn new skills and develop under the guidance of specialist RYA coaches whilst having fun with their mates.

As Tom Davenport, RYA Midlands Team 15 Co-ordinator, explains: “Team15 is fundamentally about introducing windsurfing to youngsters and making it more accessible. The vast majority of kids who start windsurfing through Team15 continue enjoying windsurfing in one of its many guises, including racing, freestyle, wave sailing and speed.

“There are so many different healthy windsurfing classes and associations in this country that have really competitive circuits and Team15 has a massive role to play in enthusing kids into the sport and helping them to develop their skills in the direction they want.”

This year’s Inter-Club Challenge Series events are being held under the banner of Sail for Gold, the nationwide London 2012 initiative from sailing’s national governing body, the RYA, celebrating Britain's unmatched Olympic sailing heritage and inspiring more people to get out on the water more regularly. Sail for Gold aims to bring the buzz of the Olympics as close as home to possible for everyone, wherever they live.

Fun and informal Pirates’ sessions, run by specialist RYA coaches, are held weekly from April to September. Kit can be borrowed from the clubs and the cost of sessions is kept low. There are more than 80 Team15 clubs nationwide.

Windsurfing was in the news earlier this month with the announcement that kiteboarding will replace windsurfing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

But, although windsurfing won’t feature in those Games for the first time since 1984, RYA CEO, Sarah Treseder insists that is no reason to think that grassroots windsurfing will suffer.

She said: “The RYA remains committed to supporting and encouraging participation in what is a fantastic sport. Whilst Team15 has played a significant role in feeding the RYA competition pathway with future talent, the majority of participants simply continue to enjoy windsurfing. It is not yet clear what role Team15 will play in the broader kiteboarding pathway but, as these developments progress, Team15 will undoubtedly remain a fundamental area of RYA activity.”