THE Official Test Centre (OTC) enjoyed a great season with many new young faces taking up the sport.

The OTC, which is located at the Weymouth & Portland Nati-onal Sailing Academy (WPNSA) also enjoyed success with its more experienced youngsters.

The OTC held a Thursday even-ing race club with regular youngsters Scotty Stallman, Lily Young, Sam Anstey, Alex Black-more and Reed Russell all honing their skills and taking their performances to the next level.

The youngsters also went on to compete in the British Slalom Association Series final, which was held at the WPNSA.

In the masterblaster fleet, An-stey took the overall win with Russell in second and Blackmore third.

Meanwhile, in the amateur fleet, Stallman proved again that at just 13, he is a serious competitor and certainly one to watch out for in the future.

Young, leading the way for the girls, recently claimed a place in the highly sought after Royal Yachting Association Olympic Youth Development Squad for RS:X windsurfing and also during the summer, picked up a World Youth Trophy for paddleboarding.

The OTC has supported local charity, the Will Mackaness Trust, by introducing the sport to many new youngsters.

OTC director Tris Best said: “The Will Mackaness Trust has helped introduce lots of young people to the world of watersports over the last few years, from the grassroots of organising swimming lessons, to sailing classes and windsurfing competitions for the more experienced.

“It is a fantastic local charity that makes a real difference to many people’s lives.”

Last year, the trust were awarded a small grant from Sport England and invested in windsurfing race equipment made by Neil Pryde with a clear aim to make racing more accessible.

Best added: “Last year has been a fantastic year for windsurfing in the area, largely thanks to the support from or-ganisations such as the Will Mackaness Trust, the Ron Ship-ley Memorial Trust and individual people such as Pam Govier.

“There is a real hotbed of young talent coming through now, which the results clearly show. It will be exciting to watch how their futures in the sport develop in the years to come.”

  •  For more details on the windsurfing opportunities offered in 2015, visit uk.otc-windsurf.com