DINGHY sailor Sophie White and crew member Andy Fielder started their season in fine form with a fifth place in the opening 29er Eurocup event at Le Lavandou in the south of France

The event, held at Cavalier Yacht Club over Easter, featured a strong field of 30 boats from across Europe - and those taking part included an ex-Olympic sailor.

White guided her class 29er dinghy to overall fifth place, with the best result being a second in race five of the 12-race series.

During this campaign, the local sailor is being supported by two sponsors - Harken and RopeLoft.

The Easter result was a great reflection on a winter of hard work which started last autumn when White was selected for the RYA National Youth Squad in the 29er sailing dinghy.

Soon after that, she was selected to be put on the RYA Tailored Support programme.

This programme selects the top four teams in Britain from each of the youth classes for special and intensive training camps.

The aim of the programme is to give the elite British sailors the support they need to perform at international events and help them to progress on to the Olympic programmes.

She said: "Over the winter I have been training hard both on and off the water. We have few competitions, so it is a chance to improve fitness levels for the next season.

"As I have a scholarship with Basingstoke Sports Centre, I have been able to do all my fitness training there which has been a great help."

White is now preparing for the European, national and world championships, all of which take place in July.

The European Championships will be held between July 1 and 8 in Denia, Spain, and the National Championships between July 17 and 20 at Hayling Island Sailing Club.

Weymouth has been selected to host the 2006 World Championships, which will take place between July 22 and 30.

White said: "Having the World Championships in Britain should be great for us and the rest of the British team, as we have been sailing at Weymouth for years. In the last year, we have been doing lots of training there.

"It's a fantastic place to sail and that's why it has been selected to host the sailing at the 2012 Olympics."

First published: Tuesday, May 2, 2006