How RYA Northern Ireland's John Minnis Youth Championships 2026, hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club at Cultra on 12 and 13 September, ran its entries and its roll call on WeMuster - on the phones the volunteers already had.
131 sailors. 10 fleets. 18 clubs. 464 tallies out and back.
The John Minnis Youth Championships is RYA Northern Ireland's youth championship and the largest annual dinghy competition in Northern Ireland. It doubles as the NI Schools Cup, its results feed the selection of the Northern Ireland Sailing Team squads, and John Minnis Estate Agents are the title sponsor. In 2026 it was hosted at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club at Cultra, on Belfast Lough, over 12 and 13 September. Sailors came from eighteen clubs across Northern Ireland and the Republic, from Ballyholme and Carrickfergus to the Royal St. George, the National and Royal Cork. Ten fleets raced: ILCA 4, ILCA 6, 29er, RS Feva, Topper, Topper 4.2 and Optimist, plus three OnBoard fleets for sailors at their first championship. An OnBoard Topper and a championship Topper are different fleets with different start times, and the roll call has to keep them apart.
Entries opened on the event's own page on we-muster.com. Parents entered online, chose the fleet and paid by card into the organiser's Stripe account. The entry list was public by sail number and fleet, with nothing personal on it; medical notes and emergency contacts were only ever shown to the people running the event.
On the Saturday morning the registration desk was a phone. Each sailor was checked in, given a £1 NFC wristband, and the band was tapped once to tie it to their entry. Sailors who had not yet entered were added at the desk in about a minute. When the desk closed the organisers knew exactly who was on site: 131 sailors present, every one with a wristband tied to their entry.
Two volunteers stood at the slip with phones. Going afloat, every sailor held a wrist to the phone; it beeped, flashed green and the count changed. Coming ashore, the same again. Nothing to write down and no tally board to guard. The race officer's screen showed how many were still to set off, how many had gone out and how many were present, overall and by fleet.
Saturday: 99 boats tallied out and 99 tallied back in. Sunday: first boat out at 08:37, 134 tallies out across the morning, the last boat tallied ashore at 16:09. Over the two days the volunteers recorded 464 tallies, each timestamped against a named entry, with the record kept whether or not the phone had signal at the time.
Saturday started blustery on Belfast Lough and the first start was held back until it eased; once away, the fleets got a full day in, and between three and five races were sailed per class over the weekend. Fleet winners: Topper (35 boats) Edward Reynolds, Donaghadee SC; Topper 4.2 (13) Daniel Long, Strangford Lough YC; ILCA 6 (13) Cormac Byrne, Ballyholme YC; ILCA 4 (11) James Westhead, Strangford Lough YC; Optimist (6) Ollie Gundersen, Strangford Lough YC; 29er (6) Juliet Ryan, Royal St. George YC; RS Feva (5) Theo McGonigle, Donaghadee SC. Ballyholme Yacht Club took the Club Cup on 65 points ahead of Strangford Lough Yacht Club and the host club; Larne Grammar School won the Schools Cup from Methodist College Belfast and Campbell College. Full results: RYA NI's round-up, main fleet and regatta fleet.
WeMuster's fee is 2% of each entry, taken as the payment is made: no subscription, no invoice, and nothing added to what parents paid. On a £70 entry that is £1.40. Card processing was Stripe's usual rate on top. The wristbands were about £150 and are reusable. On Eventbrite's published UK rate the same £70 entry would carry about £5.46 in fees, added to the parent's price at checkout.
Two volunteers' Android phones at the slip and one at the registration desk. Around 150 NFC wristbands at about £1 each, reusable at the next event. An afternoon to set the event up, and no software installed on anything.
Event run by RYA Northern Ireland, hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, and published with their agreement. WeMuster is an aid to the roll call, not a replacement for it.
Run your next event on WeMuster - free to start.