Newcastle University

Georgie Akin-Smith and George Yeoman are both sailors and are part of the elite athletes squad. Georgie is 19 and a 1^st year marketing and management student who is originally from Dorset. George is also 19 and is a 2^nd year small craft design student whose family live in West Sussex. In the past couple of weeks they have put in some impressive performances for Team Newcastle. I caught up with them for a quick chat.

Talk me through the recent event?

Georgie. We just came back from a BUCS event in Slough. It was held at the Queen Mary Sailing Club and we won the fleet racing event, which we are really happy with. There were 6 races. We came sixth in the first race, then we won 3 races and came second in two. So overall we won. It was very close coming into the last two races but we fought off boats from Exeter and Plymouth University who were competing with us all he way. Windier conditions made Sunday’s races a lot more fun. I think we got 12 BUCS points so we are really pleased.

Is it right that you also won an event the week before as well?

George. Yes we went to Leeds for a university event but it wasn’t a BUCS event. There were 22 Universities competing, and we won with a 100% win record. We won on count back as we didn’t finish all races, due to lack of wind. There are three more university events like that this year in Bristol, Birmingham and London.

How high is the standard in the Newcastle sailing team?

Georgie. Newcastle doesn’t have the greatest reputation for sailing, but it is looking up

George. Yes before I arrived Newcastle hadn’t won a BUCS point in sailing for a couple of years. Last Easter during a match racing event I got a Bronze medal and 8 BUCS points. Newcastle are now a top ten team. We are still the dark horses, but we will surprise some people. Last year we nearly reached the BUCS team racing final. We only lost out on countback.

How is the sailing team made up?

George. We have a team of six, with two people in three boats. I share a boat with Georgie and we have sailed together for a number of years before we came to university. We have sailed in the national squad together as well.

Georgie. All the team members are very keen. The team is mainly 2^nd and 3^rd year students, however we are the only ones who have scholarships.

George. The captain Ben, is a third year who used to train with the national junior squad. He was the top guy back then, I’m not at liberty to say who is better now! The other two boats sail very well. It is a team game but we do count up against each other.

 So you mentioned the sports scholarship programme, how did that come about?

Georgie  I found the scholarship application on the university website and  applied through there

George. I missed the chance to join the team last year as I came through clearing. I applied for the elite programme this year. I sent my CV with my application and they decided I was worthy of the scholarship.

How has the programme helped you?

George Before I started University I never had the opportunity to do much training, especially as I was at boarding school. I trained about once every two weeks. I always thought my competitors others would be doing about the same, but they have been training 3-4 times a week plus gym sessions. Some of them have joined the Olympic development teams.  I hope this scholarship programme encourages me to train harder and more often.

What do you hope the scholarship programme will do for you?

George. I have never had anything like this before. At youth level I was never pushed. This programme is structured . I want to improve my fitness. I competed well during the summer. However, when it came to nationals at the end of the season I felt I didn’t have the stamina. With the help of the programme I want to be able to compete at the highest standard throughout the season. We used to arrive at events without much training. Sometimes we would travel home knowing we could have done better if we had practised more. Hopefully for the first time my conditioning is better than my competitors.

Georgie. All of the athletes have just handed in food diaries, so the nutritionist can see what we eat. I hope the nutritionist can give me some clear advice on what to eat to remain at the top of our game.

George. I hope I get a decent diet for the first time!

Georgie. Every Tuesday we have a lecture in the sports centre, which I think will be very useful for everyone.

George. Yes the lecture is at eight in the morning, so you may as well go into the gym afterwards!

How will you use the money from the scholarship?

Georgie. Well sailing is a very expensive sport and the funding will be a great help. We will spend it on new equipment and travelling costs as some of our events are held a long way from Newcastle. I really hope I receive the scholarship again next year and will have to ensure I remain competitive.

What are your weakest and strongest aspects in your Sport?

George. I am very fast, my down wind speed is my best attribute. I work really hard while others may coast for a while. My weakest part is tactics, sometimes I have won even after going the wrong way!

Georgie. I think the weakest part is the communication between boats, but I think my tactics are quite good.

Where do you train and does it get in the way of your studies?

Georgie. We train at South Shields in the mouth of the river Tyne. The training doesn’t get in way of studying. I was used to balancing training with academic studies at school, so I find it easy to manage my time.

George. It is easy to fit my work around university. You can’t just go and sail, it is only possible at set times so you can plan you life around it. Also my degree is related to my sport, which is excellent.

How are you finding university/Newcastle?

George. Newcastle wasn’t my first choice. It was Southampton because of the opportunities to sail, unfortunately I didn’t get the grades. All my sailing team went to Southampton. Initially I was gutted I didn’t get in, but it couldn’t have worked out any better coming to Newcastle. It is a brilliant. I have great mates and I am having a great time.

Georgie. I have loved it so far

George your father was a great sailor. Do you feel any pressure to emulate him?

George. My father came 6^th in the 1988 Olympic games. He got a 2:1 degree, competed at the Olympics and became an investment banker. I would love to emulate his achievements, perhaps not the investment banker though! My father never pushed me into the sport. He introduced me to it and I discovered I have the same passion for sailing as him. I came 3^rd in a youth U22 competition. The two people ahead were both youth world medallists. I’m also ranked 97^th in the world at the minute, which isn’t so bad.

View Georgie talking about the Performance Sport Scholarship at Newcastle University