Princess Anne will visit Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy to watch a prestigious youth sailing event.

The Princess Royal will be attending the premier event on the RYA's youth racing calendar next week, which will see talented young sailors battle it out on the Olympic waters to be crowned RYA Youth National Champion 2014.

Youngsters will be able to showcase their talents in front of the Royal audience after it was confirmed that the Princess Royal, who is also President of the Royal Yachting Association, will be attending the event on Thursday April 17.

The youth championships run from Monday, April 14 to Friday, April 18, and this event will see the largest number of competitors in the event's history.

Nearly 400 dinghy, catamaran and windsurf racers in the six youth classes will compete across four race areas in Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.

The event will see some fast and furious action as the youngsters battle it out for championship honours and the chance to be selected to represent the British Youth Sailing Team at a range of international competitions this year.

Throughout the week, young sailors will also have the chance to impress a number of the British Sailing Team's London 2012 Olympic medallists, who will be attending the event to inspire the next generation of Olympic hopefuls.

This year, Sarah Gosling will be among the panel of RYA selectors at WPNSA. Sarah progressed through the youth ranks to represent Great Britain twice at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in the Laser Radial class. She then went on to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals at Athens and Beijing.

RYA Racing Manager and Performance Director, John Derbyshire, said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming the nations brightest and best talent to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy for a great week of competition.

“Not only is the event a high profile multi-class selection opportunity, it's also a huge spectacle, great fun and a fantastic showcase for our sport and platform for young sailors to develop their skills.”

N To follow all the action, search for British Youth Sailing Team on Facebook or follow @RYAyouthracing on twitter.