Sport

Welsh sailor earns British team selection after world championship debut

23 Aug 2026 3 minute read

Steffan sailing in New Quay this summer at New Quay Yacht Club Open Regatta. Photo Chris Taylor

Nation.Cymru staff

A 17-year-old Welsh sailor has been selected for the British Sailing Youth Team after a summer that included his first international championship.

Steffan Williams, from New Quay in Ceredigion, secured a place in the British Sailing Youth ILCA 6 Team following performances at the ILCA National Championships in July and the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Denmark this month.

The Ysgol Bro Teifi sixth-form pupil recently returned from Denmark, where he competed against more than 300 young sailors from around the world during six days of racing.

It was Steffan’s first international competition and gave him the chance to test himself against some of the leading young sailors in the ILCA 6 fleet.

The ILCA 6 is a single-handed dinghy class and forms part of the pathway towards senior international and Olympic sailing.

Steffan’s strongest performance came during qualifying, when he was among the leaders approaching the first mark.

He said: “My highlight of the week was rounding the windward mark in second place during one of the qualifying races and looking back and seeing the rest of the world fleet!

“It was a pretty incredible feeling and definitely a moment I’ll never forget. To finish fifth in that race was a huge confidence boost and showed me that I can compete at this level.”

Selection

Steffan’s sailing career began on Cardigan Bay and he has continued to develop while studying for his A-levels at Ysgol Bro Teifi.

Earlier this summer he competed at the ILCA National Championships, where his performance helped put him in contention for a place within British Sailing’s youth programme.

His selection means he will now train alongside other leading young sailors from across the UK, with the programme providing coaching, training camps and opportunities for international competition.

Steffan said: “It’s a real honour to be selected for the British Sailing Youth Team. This has been one of my goals for a long time and it’s the result of a lot of hard work on and off the water.

“The experience in Denmark was amazing and has motivated me even more to keep improving and pushing myself.”

Next generation

Away from competition, Steffan is a member of New Quay Yacht Club and works as a dinghy instructor at Cardigan Bay Watersports Centre.

The role sees him helping other young people learn to sail while continuing his own development in the sport.

He said: “I’m passionate about helping the next generation discover a love of sailing and the sea.

“Seeing young people build confidence on the water and achieve things they never thought possible is incredibly rewarding, so to represent Wales and GBR on the world stage and then bring those experiences back to inspire future sailors makes this achievement even more special.”

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