The Youth SAILING Champions League was launched out of the SAILING Champions League format, and 18 crews from eight nations raced each other in Travemünde Germany from July 27-29. The first-ever league competition exclusively for sailors from 16 to 23 years old at Travemünde Week attracted yacht clubs from Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. After three days of competition and a four-boat finale, it was the Bodensee Yacht Club Uberlingen from Germany’s Lake Constance that won. Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub from Denmark was the runner-up, ahead of fellow Danish team from Roskilde Sejlklub in third place. Bodensee YC’s young crew consisted of helmsman Konstantin Steidle, Alexandra Lauber, Patrick Hasse and Jonathan Koch. The team went into the finale as the third-ranked club, but secured the overall win. For the leading group, the final day was all about making sure you had done enough to make it through to the four-boat finale. After 12 flights with 36 races, the final was a battle Denmark vs. Germany: the Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub (KDY) and Roskilde Sejlklub from Denmark against Bodensee Yacht Club Uberlingen (BYCUe) and Lindauer Segler Club from Germany. The new Finals format means that your overall position from Qualifying is taken into the Final Series. So as winner of the Qualifying Series, KDY carried through a first place and hence already one race win. Whichever of the four clubs secures two race wins would become the overall champion. In the first final race, BYCU won, putting them level with KDY, the winner of Qualifying. In final race 2, BYCU earned her second race win, giving the young crew from Germany the overall victory. Over the three days, the clubs experienced all kinds of wind conditions: from Friday with the wind averaging 17 knots and gusting quite a bit more at times with big waves…to lighter airs on Saturday and Sunday. For more Youth SAILING Champions League information, visit http://sailing-championsleague.com/.