Gill, the technical sailing apparel brand, is delighted to announce a new partnership with the British Keelboat Academy (BKA).
The BKA is a joint programme between the UKSA and RYA designed to support young people aged between 18 and 24 in developing the skills needed to take their keelboat yacht racing to a professional level. Run to RYA standards and delivered by UKSA, the BKA offers a programme to approximately 50 individuals covering all aspects of racing, training, boat maintenance and personal preparation.
Gill Sales Director, Bryan Stewart, said: “We are hugely supportive of the British Keelboat Academy, which does a fantastic job in creating a more structured route in to professional racing as a career. Helping to kit out the professional sailors of tomorrow is brilliant for our brand, provides us with an excellent test-bed for future product development and shows the benefits of wearing great kit that helps performance at every level.”
Gill has a long tradition of manufacturing technical clothing for the demanding conditions of performance sailing. The brand has recently launched its new KB1 Racer range, which is designed specifically for competitive keelboat racing. The range combines high-performance fabrics with an ergonomic fit, engineered to move as the body moves, which allows sailors to manoeuvre quickly and easily around the boat.
Jack Fenwick, RYA Keelboat Development Manager said: “It’s great that Gill have come along as a partner for the BKA. Providing high quality technical Keelboat clothing for the sailors is really important, especially for those sailors who are very new to keelboat sailing.”
Charlie Dodd, BKA Squad member 2015-2016, added: “I really like the new kit. I used it for the first time on Saturday and it was great. We did three races and I was wearing the smock that kept me completely dry. The kit also makes us look and feel like a team, almost a professional team, which I really like.”