A Turriff teenager has launched a fundraising drive to help him achieve his dream of one day sailing at the Olympics.
Finlay Tulett has been sailing dinghys since he was given a lesson for a Christmas gift at the age of eight.
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Now aged 15, he is the youngest member of the Royal Yachting Association Scotland Elite team which supports outdoor sports enthusiasts hoping to compete in international events.
The Banff Academy pupil currently competes in his Laser Radial boat and has been a member of the Great Britain Junior Squad twice.
He aims to be selected for the Great Britain Youth Squad this year.
But his love of sailing and his dream to compete at top level comes at a cost and his parents have been spending up to £20,000 a year on funding the sport.
The money is spent on travelling long distances for training and events as well as his equipment.
Finlay said: “Last year in the National Championships I placed 13th out of over 200 competitors and now moved up a class to the one below Olympic standard.
“I’m hoping to keep going on that trajectory but it costs a lot.
“I would really like to be sponsored by local companies as I go to Scottish and international events so I would be able to give them something back by taking their name around with me.
“I went to China before so it really could give them widespread advertising as well as helping me keep going.
“Right now my coaches are saying I’m on the Olympic pathway so not near it yet but that’s the overall goal.
‘”If that doesn’t happen I think I would like to make a career out of it in some way.”
In a bid to ensure his sporting success can continue, Finlay’s mum Helen James launched a Crowdfunding page.
She said: “It’s just incredible the level at which he’s sailing at but it costs an arm and a leg – between £10,000 and £20,000 to keep him going for a year.
“I don’t want to be the parent that says ‘you can’t because we can’t afford it’.
“Finlay asked us if we would mind him pursuing sailing instead of going to university and my husband and I told him that he can get a degree when he’s 60 but you can’t get an Olympic medal then.
“I really believe the people of Aberdeenshire will get behind him as a young sportsman in the area and even the smallest amount all adds up, which is why we started the crowdfunding page.”
To donate in support of the young athlete visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/finlay-tulett or contact him via his Facebook page.