In 2022, four sailors across the junior, youth and senior pathway have been selected to have subsidised access to our Performance Academy group training, a mentoring programme and team kit through our Performance Academy Sailing Scholarships. We are proud to announce that one of these sailors is Imogen Palmer!
Imogen is a regular ILCA 4 sailor who competes on the national circuit. Imogen is a student at Royal Hospital School and a member of Rutland Sailing Club. We asked Imogen to answer a few questions about what sailing means to her and her upcoming goals:
What is your next sailing goal?
My current sailing goal is to perform at the ILCA 4 world championships in Portugal this summer. I am training really hard to make this dream become a reality. Over the next 6 months I have to determine the appropriate time to transition into the ILCA 6 and the mentor programme will be invaluable in helping me make this decision at the optimum time.
What does sailing mean to you?
Sailing defines me as an individual, without sailing I wouldn’t know myself. I love the freedom, the independence, the responsibility, the tactical decision making, the adrenaline rush, the feeling of myself and my vulnerability to the natural environment, the highs of success and the lows that make the highs even better. Most of all I value the friendships and the diversity of those friendships. Sailors understand, like no others, the importance of competitive rivalry alongside unquestionable peer support. We are there for ourselves and each other and that makes for the developing of life- long friendships.
If you’re not on the water, where or how do you spend your time?
At the moment I am studying for my GCSE’s this summer so revising is high on my agenda as I want to achieve high results to facilitate the study of medicine at university. I am an active reader, enjoying an eclectic variety of fiction and faction, I play the flute and am involved with the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
