us sailing team – Sailing World https://www.sailingworld.com Sailing World is your go-to site and magazine for the best sailboat reviews, sail racing news, regatta schedules, sailing gear reviews and more. Sun, 07 May 2023 04:04:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.1 https://www.sailingworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/favicon-slw.png us sailing team – Sailing World https://www.sailingworld.com 32 32 US Sailing Team Athletes Put In Strong Results in Clearwater https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/us-sailing-team-clearwater-performances/ Tue, 07 Feb 2023 17:23:58 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=74865 With the conclusion of the US Open Series in Clearwater, several athletes punch their tickets to the PanAm Games and Olympic Test Event.

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Olympic class 49er sailboats on the starting line of a regatta in Florida
The Men’s 49er Fleet gets off the starting line at the US Open Series in Clearwater, Florida Allison Chenard/US Sailing Team

The Florida swing of the US Open Sailing Series culminated in Clearwater in February after four days filled with highs and lows for the 200 athletes and 30 countries and territories in attendance. Nearly all the Olympic classes – iQFOiL Women & Men, 49er, Formula Kite Women & Men, ILCA 6, ILCA 7, and 470 Mixed – came together on the Gulf of Mexico off Sand Key Beach. The regatta saw extremely variable conditions. Thursday was too light for most classes to race, Friday’s gusts over 30 knots kept competitors ashore, and the final two days featured stellar conditions that allowed the Race Committee to run a nearly full slate of races for the competitors.

For US athletes, it was the final selection event to qualify for the 2023 Pan American Games, the 2023 Sailing World Championships, and the 2023 Olympic Test Event at the Paris 2024 venue. The event also served as a country qualifier for the 2023 Pan American Games with many countries in attendance seeking their spot in Santiago, Chile.

Clearwater locals dominated the Men’s iQFOiL fleet, with two of the top three men all hailing from the local sailing center. Noah Lyons took first place with 11 points, achieving USA selection for the Pan Am Games and 2023 Olympic Test Event later this year. His training partners Geronimo Nores and Alexander Temko took second and third with 11 and 16 points, respectively.

IQFOiL Men:
USA Noah Lyons, 11
USA Geronimo Nores, 11
USA Alexander Temko, 16

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event: United States, Venezuela, Dominican Republic

For the iQFOiL Women, Brazilian Giovanna Prada secured her spot at the top of the podium after winning four of eight races. Following Prada was American Dominique Stater, whose performances in Miami and Clearwater earned her selection for the 2023 Pan Am Games and 2023 Olympic Test Event. Hawaiian native Danicka Sailer represented the islands well and inched out third place over Mexican competitors in fourth and fifth.

iQFOiL Women:
BRA Giovanna Prada, 8
USA Dominique Stater, 10
USA Danicka Sailer, 17

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event: United States, Mexico, Canada

Newly minted as the 2022 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, Formula Kite phenom Daniela Moroz took first place in the Women’s Formula Kite with 11 points over eight races. She was followed in the standings by two kiters from Great Britain, Ellie Aldridge and Maddy Anderson, who finished with 23 and 24 points, respectively.

Formula Kite Women:
USA Daniela Moroz, 11
GBR Ellie Aldridge, 23
GBR Maddy Anderson, 24

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event: United States, Argentina, Colombia

In the Men’s Formula Kite, Cameron Maramenides, a 2018 Youth Olympic Games competitor, sailed a consistent event taking the win with 23 points. US Sailing Team member Markus Edegran finished second with 29 points, while British kiter Guy Bridge finished third with 30 points.

Formula Kite Men: 
GRE Cameron Maramenides, 23
USA Markus Edegran, 29GBR Guy Bridge, 30

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event: United States, Mexico, Canada

Americans dominated the ILCA 6 podium at this year’s Clearwater US Open. Erika Reineke and Charlotte Rose tied for first place with 13 points, with Reineke winning the tiebreaker to take the event, which, along with her performance at last month’s Lauderdale US Open, earned her a spot at the Pan Am Games and the Olympic Test Event. The podium was rounded out by their training partner Christina Sakellaris, who finished with 19 points.

ILCA 6:
USA Erika Reineke, 13
USA Charlotte Rose, 13
USA Christina Sakellaris, 19

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event: United States, Peru, Guatemala, Venezuela, Cayman Islands

The ILCA 7 class saw a strong contingent from the Americas. Peruvian Stefano Peschiera, took first overall, winning four of the seven races and finishing with six points total. He was followed by Olympic veteran Juan Ignacio Maegli from Guatemala in second with 12 points, and El Salvadorian Enrique Arathoon in third with 18 points. 

Leo Boucher, who finished in fourth place, was the top finishing American. Chapman Petersen, who finished sixth overall, won selection for the Pan Am Games, Olympic Test Event, and the guaranteed berth for the Combined World Championship. Note, the United States qualified the ILCA 7 for Pan Ams at the 2022 ILCA 7 North American Championship.

ILCA 7: 
PER Stefano Peschiera, 6
GUA Juan Ignacio Maegli, 12
ESA Enrique Arathoon, 18

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event*: Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Bermuda

American teams swept the 49er podium this year, with US Sailing Team athletes Ian Barrows and Hans Henken finishing first with eight points, securing USA selection for the 2023 Pan Am Games and Olympic Test Event. Training partners Nevin Snow and Mac Agnese came in second with 17 points while Andrew Mollerus and Ian MacDiarmid rounded out the podium in third with 19 points. The United States qualified the 49er for Pan Ams at the 2022 49er World Championship.

49er:
USA Ian Barrows & Hans Henken, 8 
USA Nevin Snow & Mac Agnese, 17
USA Andrew Mollerus & Ian MacDiarmid, 19

Countries qualifying for Pan American Games at this event: Canada, Mexico, Brazil

Four-time Olympian Stu McNay paired up with Tokyo 2020 Olympian Lara Dallman-Weiss this weekend to win the Clearwater US Open’s Mixed 470 class with six points after winning four of the six total races. They were followed closely by US Sailing Team athletes Louisa Nordstrom and Trevor Bornarth, who finished second with eight points. Kyra Phelan and Sawyer Bastian finished third with 16 points. 

470 Mixed:
USA Stuart McNay & Lara Dallman-Weiss, 6
USA Louisa Nordstrom & Trevor Bornarth, 8
USA Kyra Phelan & Sawyer Bastian, 16

[The Pan American Games do not feature the 470]

As of the time of this release, the United States has qualified all nine Olympic classes, the Snipe, and Lightning for the 2023 Pan American Games. Country qualification events for the men’s and women’s Sunfish will begin in March of this year to complete the Pan American sailing slate.

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Inspired by Our Inspirational Olympic Sailors https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/inspired-by-our-inspirational-olympic-sailors/ Tue, 27 Jul 2021 01:02:47 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=69724 With the Tokyo Olympic Games now underway, our U.S. Sailing Team athletes are the best we have and they’re giving it their best. Here’s why we need to root for them no matter the outcome or the final medal count.

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Olympic Laser sailor at Tokyo Olympics
Men’s Laser sailor Charlie Buckingham competes on the second of racing in Enoshima, Japan. World Sailing/Sailing Energy

Olympics is happening now and soon the medals will be given out, the tales of heroics and tragedy that is the 2021 Olympics will be written for all time. As we watch from afar, I think we should all remember why the Olympics are so important, and how our United States Sailing Team is an overwhelmingly positive force for sailing in this country.

In our sport, there are lots of regattas, but there are a very small number that really represent the pinnacle of our sport, and none more than the Olympic Games. So many of the legends of sailing made their mark in the Olympics; Elvstrom, Melges, Schumann, Conner, Ainslie. Now there is a new crop of top Olympic sailors, and these men and women are very, very good. They are superb athletes. They train relentlessly and scientifically. They have risen through the ranks over many years, and they continue to be driven by the pursuit of sailing their boat a little bit faster.

The U.S. Sailing Team is a diverse and powerful group. In each of the 10 classes, only one team from the U.S. can go and compete, so the competition for those spots is very intense. Every team had a different path to securing their Olympic dream, and each one has many great stories to tell. These athletes have had to deal with failure as well as success. Those that dealt with it well often went on to further success.

Some of our team is relatively young, and this is their first Olympic experience. Our FX (Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea), Nacra 17 (Riley Gibbs and Anna Weiss), Women’s 470 (Nikki Barns and Laura Dallman-Weiss) and Finn (Luke Muller) sailors are representing the United States at the highest level for the first time. They bring a battle hardened yet youthful passion to their efforts, and many will be back again in future Olympics, faster and smarter. Some of our team are true veterans, and have been sailing hard at the highest levels for ten to twenty years. Our Men’s 470 (Stu McNay and David Hughes), Radial (Paige Railey), and RS:X (Farrah Hall and Pedro Pascual) are truly battle hardened, and they are bringing their tremendous experience and perseverance to the Olympic Regatta.

Many of the U.S. athletes have benefited from a well-organized domestic training program, where the top American teams train together and share coaching. This has been providing tremendous benefits, especially in the Covid year. We have also seen our team being pushed hard by youth sailors who are working their way up the Olympic pipeline. Some of these will be representing the U.S. in Marseilles in 2024! The Olympic sailing infrastructure in this country is pretty lean, but also highly effective, with strong leadership form Paul Cayard and Luther Carpenter, and dedicated, professional staff and coaches. The program is on a positive trajectory and there is a lot of optimism about the future.

Think of what an aspiring Olympic sailor went through in the last two years. Until March 2020 your path was clear, the regattas were set, the training partners lined up. Then everything changed in a flash, and the whole sport had to figure it out. Some athletes stopped training but the majority kept at it, despite the uncertain future. Together with their coaches, they had to find a new way to train, new ways to get better without the usual regatta/training camp routine.

The good teams figured it out and used this time to train smarter and get even better. Some teams, including some American teams, used this extra year to go from average to top form. Even when the one-year delay was announced, there was a lot of uncertainty about would the Olympics actually go ahead. The top Olympic athletes find a way to stay strong, including our American team. I am inspired and motivated by the commitment, the expertise, and the teamwork that our USST exemplifies. All sailors should be proud to have these athletes representing the United States. They represent the ideals that we all share: prepare well, play hard but fair, get better each day.

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The US Sailing Team Bound for Tokyo https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/the-us-sailing-team-bound-for-tokyo/ Thu, 27 May 2021 18:13:40 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=70040 Meet the athletes who’ve put in the long hours to reach the pinnacle of international sailing.

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49er fx
Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea, first-time campaigners in the 49erFX have been quick studies of the skiff and top international performers in their first year. Sailing Energy

US Sailing has confirmed the names of the 13 sailors who will represent the United States at the Olympic Games this coming July and August near Tokyo, Japan. The team hails from nine U.S. states and territories including California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin. The finalization of the team roster comes after nearly five years campaigning by not only the 13 Olympic Team nominees, but dozens of additional American sailors who were part of U.S. Sailing’s Olympic Team selection process.

“I know how much work it takes to earn selection to Team USA, and what a special honor it is to represent your country in the Olympics,” said Paul Cayard, Executive Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “I’m excited to support this group of 13 talented athletes as they race in Enoshima. I’m also proud of the larger community of U.S. Olympic-class sailors that competed in the selection process and pushed the Games team. The combined strength and depth of our Tokyo 2020 nominees, of our larger national team and of our development program is key to our success this summer and beyond.”

With the dates of the Games significantly impacted for only the fourth time in the 125-year history of the modern Olympic movement, athletes on the US Sailing Team, the annually-selected national team, had to adapt to a situation that was unprecedented in multiple respects.

“The pandemic created an interesting challenge for the world of Olympic Sailing,” said Luther Carpenter, Head Coach of the US Sailing Team. “Our sailors and coaches had to stay home or close to home, respect the virus, and brainstorm how to be productive. We worked to capitalize on the positives of the ‘zoom world,’ and we dove deep into all the things we never typically have time for. I am proud of our sailors for growing as a team, collaborating and interacting with experts and U.S. medalists from prior Olympic Games.”

The final year before the Games would usually involve relentless periods of relocation, training and competition for sailors around the world. The onset of COVID-19, and the ensuing travel restrictions, only raised the stakes for all competitors worldwide.

Team USA returns Games-tested athletes to the Olympic regatta in five of the nine sailing classes in which Americans will compete at Tokyo 2020, giving the group a strong core of experience. Athletes in four classes will make their Olympic debut, and the U.S. will not compete in the Men’s 49er event after narrowly missing national qualification in that class.

“Our team’s post-lockdown regatta results give us confidence that the pandemic training plan and execution is working,” said Carpenter. “That’s what the Olympics is all about; athletes performing to the highest of standards, made possible by unquestionable standards of preparation and training.”

The Games of the XXXII Olympiad will take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021, and the sailing events will be based on the island of Enoshima, approximately 35 miles southwest of Tokyo. The largest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games will feature approximately 11,000 athletes from over 200 countries competing in 339 medal events. The sailing events will feature up to 350 athletes competing in ten classes.

All nominations to the Tokyo 2020 U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Tokyo 2020 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team Nominees (listed in order of date of selection):

49erFX (Women’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff)

Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) – Team Roble-Shea has been on the 49erFX campaign trail together since the fall of 2016, earning several medals at major events including the 2019 Pan American Games and 2019 Hempel World Cup Series-Genoa. A highlight was a bronze medal at the 49erFX World Championship in 2020. Tokyo 2020 will be the first Olympic Games appearances for both Roble and Shea.

Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull)

Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, FL) – The U.S. multihull pair were Pan American Games Champions in 2019 and also earned bronze at the 2020 Oceania Championship. At the 2019 Worlds, they finished 14th. Gibbs and Weis will compete in their first career Olympics.

Nacra 17
Reilly Gibbs and crew Anna Weiss have been on the fast track in the Nacra 17 class. Their first Olympic campaign in the challenging catamaran has netted them top international finishes early on. Sailing Energy

ILCA 6 – Radial (Women’s One-Person Dinghy)

Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) – Tokyo 2020 will be the third consecutive Olympic Games appearance for the accomplished Railey, a five-time World Championship medalist, a Rolex World Sailor of the Year, a three-time Pan American Games medalist and a US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.

radial olympic sailor
Paige Railey, the longhauler of the Laser Radial (now ILCA 6) will get her third shot at an Olympic medal. Sailing Energy

Finn (Men’s One-Person Heavyweight Dinghy)

Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) – Following multiple national championship wins as a youth Laser sailor, Muller medaled in the 2019 Finn Hempel World Cup Series-Miami and logged a career-best 6th place finish at the 2021 Finn Gold Cup (World Championship) in Porto, Portugal. Tokyo 2020 will be Muller’s first career Olympics.

Finn sailor
Tokyo will be the final appearance of the Finn, the iconic men’s heavyweight singlehanded dinghy, and Luke Muller is keen to claim one of the Finn class’s final medals. Sailing Energy

ILCA 7 – Standard (Men’s One-Person Dinghy)

Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) – The Laser North American Champion, two-time College Sailor of the Year and Lima 2019 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist will sail at his second consecutive Olympic Games. Buckingham has had a strong run of recent results, including winning the 2020 Italian Olympic Class Championship, taking 6th overall at the 2020 Laser European Championships, and 4th overall at the 2020 Kieler Woche.

Charlie Buckingham sailing his ILCA 7
Charlie Buckingham is the Laser North American Champion, two-time College Sailor of the Year and 2019 Pan American Games Bronze Medalist. Tokyo will be his second Olympic appearance. Sailing Energy

Women’s RS:X (Women’s Board)

Farrah Hall (Annapolis, MD) – Hall has medaled in several RS:X events including the 2011 Pan American Games, the 2012 US Sailing Rolex Miami OCR, the 2018 North American Championships, and took gold at the 2015 Semaine Olympique Francaise. Tokyo 2020 marks Hall’s second appearance on the Olympic stage, following her appearance at the London 2012 Games.

Farrah Hall
Women’s RS:X rep Farrah Hall has been campaigning in the windsurfing class since her teen years. She last competed in London. Sailing Energy

Men’s RS:X (Men’s Board)

Pedro Pascual (Miami, Fla.) – Pascual won the RS:ONE European Championship before making gold fleet at the 2016 RS:X Worlds and winning the 2020 Sailing World Cup Miami. Pascual will sail in his second career Olympics following his Rio 2016 appearance.

RS:x
Pedro Pascual went to Rio as a 20-year-old first-time Olympian and finished near the bottom of the RS:X class, but has been training intensely to get himself closer to the podium. Sailing Energy

Men’s 470 (Men’s Two-Person Dinghy)

Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) – McNay will compete at his fourth consecutive Olympic Games, and his second with teammate Hughes. The veteran pair have consistently challenged for medals since teaming up in 2012, and have earned dozens of podium finishes at the national, World Cup and Continental levels. McNay and Hughes head into the Games after a 5th place finish at the 2021 World Championships.

Stuart McNay and David Hughes
Crew David Hughes and Stuart McNay barely missed the podium in Rio in 2016, but they’ve been campaigning since 2012 and see Tokyo as their final shot at gold. Sailing Energy

Women’s 470 (Women’s Two-Person Dinghy)

Nikole Barnes (St. Thomas, USVI) and Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.) – Three-time All-American collegiate sailor and active-duty U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Nikole Barnes will team up with 2016 Farr 40 North American Champion Lara Dallman-Weiss in their first Olympic Games appearances. Their 7th at the 2021 World Championship is a career-best to date.

Womens Olympic 470 sailors
Skipper Nikki Barnes and crew Lara Dallman-Weiss earned their berth only months before the Olympic regatta, and are on a steady rise in the Women’s 470 international scene. Sailing Energy

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Around the Sailing World, Episode 27 https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/around-the-sailing-world-episode-27/ Wed, 13 Jan 2021 00:21:15 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=70257 Paige Railey, Dane Wilson and Leandro Spina get us up to speed on the new West Marine US Open Sailing Series.

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US Sailing Team’s Paige Railey, Dane Wilson and Leandro Spina get us up to speed on the new West Marine US Open Sailing Series. Plus, a look at Emirates Team New Zealand trip down the mine, the epic battle at the front of the Vendée Globe and finally one slick mark rounding from the Newport YC’s Turnabout frostbite fleet.

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Round Two for Olympic Aspirants in Japan https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/round-two-for-olympic-aspirants-in-japan/ Tue, 27 Aug 2019 22:11:24 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=69404 The Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima started off slow thanks to a long postponement waiting for wind on day one.

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Japan sailing race
U.S. Sailing Team 49erFX pair Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea put in a strong performance on the light-air opening day of the Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima. Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Sailors were postponed until the early afternoon when they were met with light and lumpy conditions. Despite holding the athletes on shore for a couple of hours, the Race Committee managed to fire off at least one race in each class before sunset. U.S. 49erFX athletes Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) and Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.) are currently the highest-ranking Americans.

The pair sailed a consistent two races to secure their spot in the top ten. In addition to the light southwesterly paired with the choppy sea state, the athletes had the challenge of dodging another fleet. “Today was a bit of a tricky day. The 49er guys were coming downwind as we were coming upwind off the start,” said Roble. “Our races ended up being about getting clear air and getting out to the edge to get better pressure than the boats in the middle.”

U.S. Women’s 470 sailors Carmen and Emma Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.) had the opposite experience on their racecourse. The pair struggled early in the race but managed to climb back to 12th place in their only race of the day. “We worked hard today and had a lot of learning opportunities,” said Carmen. “Our first leg was a little rough, but we were able to keep passing boats throughout the race to end up 12th, so we’re happy with that.”

Other standout performances from the U.S. include those of the American Laser and Laser Radial athletes. Though the scores of Radial athlete, Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), and Laser athletes, Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.), and Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.), were inconsistent, they managed to finish one of today’s two races in fourth, fourth, and seventh, respectively.

2020 Hempel World Cup Series Enoshima – U.S. Results

  • 49erFX – Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wisc.) & Maggie Shea (Wilmette, Ill.), 10th
  • Finn – Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.), 11th
  • Women’s 470 – Carmen Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.) & Emma Cowles (Larchmont, N.Y.), 12th
  • Finn – Luke Muller (Fort Pierce, Fla.), 13th
  • Laser – Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.), 13th
  • Laser Radial – Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 16th
  • Men’s RS:X – Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.), 17th
  • Women’s 470 – Nikole Barnes (Miami, Fla.) & Lara Dallman-Weiss (Shoreview, Minn.), 17th
  • Women’s 470 – Rachel Bryer (Jamestown, R.I.) & Laura Slovensky (Brookhaven, N.Y.), 18th
  • Women’s 470 – Atlantic Brugman (Winthrop, Mass.) & Nora Brugman (Winthrop, Mass.), 19th
  • Laser – Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.), 20th
  • Men’s 470 – Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) & Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.), 23rd
  • Nacra 17 – Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.) & David Liebenberg (Livermore, Calif.), 23rd
  • Nacra 17 – Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) & Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 24th
  • 49er – Andrew Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.) & Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.), 25th
  • 49er – Judge Ryan (San Diego, Calif.) & Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.), 29th
  • Nacra 17 – Ravi Parent (Sarasota, Fla.) & Charlotte Mack (Miami, Fla.), 30th
  • 49erFX – Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) & Anna Tunnicliffe-Tobias (Pittsburgh, Penn.), 31st
  • Men’s 470 – Trevor Davis (Annapolis, Md.) & Trevor Bornarth (Martin County, Fla.), 31st

With a particularly windy forecast for tomorrow looming, it is possible that some or all fleets will be unable to race in the predicted twenty-to-thirty knot conditions. Racing is still currently scheduled to resume as planned at 12:00 local time, tomorrow.

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Olympic Sailing Reboot https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/olympic-sailing-reboot/ Mon, 17 Apr 2017 22:36:03 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=67479 U.S. Olympic sailing coaches roll out a collaborative approach to training as the team looks forward to the Tokyo Olympics.

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olympic sailing
Encouraging ­interaction between all levels of sailors, 2008 Laser Radial gold medalist Anna ­Tunnicliffe is a mainstay of the ODP program. Also a professional CrossFit athlete, ­Tunnicliffe leads rigorous morning workouts. ­ Jen Edney

I t’s a sunny, light-breeze afternoon with gentle rolling swells, we’re a few miles off Miami, and Wiley Rogers and crew Jack Parkin, two of the country’s most promising young dinghy sailors, are working with Olympic coach Dave Ullman. They’re fresh off a crushing win in 420s at the Youth World championship and now, at the ripe ages of 17 and 18, respectively, they’re ratcheting up to the next level — a 470 campaign that, with wide-eyed, youthful optimism, might lead to Tokyo in 2020.

The afternoon eventually winds down, and the boys lower their sails in preparation for the tow back to the Miami Yacht Club, host for the first US Sailing Team camp of the new quad. As they’re rolling sails, another 470 materializes out of the haze. It’s Rio Olympians Stu McNay and Dave Hughes, already training for 2020, and they’re flying an Olympic spinnaker emblazoned with a large American flag. Rogers stands in the cockpit, tiller in one hand and, with the other, points to the ­Olympic ­spinnaker, now about a quarter-mile away.

“Hey, we need one like that!” he says.

Intentional or not, his words are a stealthy, symbolic shot across the bow of the veteran Olympians. A grin appears from under Ullman’s signature white mustache. “You’ll get yours,” he replies, “someday.”

For 85 sailors at the Miami YC, preparations for “someday” are happening here and now — the first day of the new year, and just in case anyone has forgotten that detail, reminders still swing in the breeze under the patio awning, remnants of the club’s New Year’s Eve party.

There have been team camps in the past, but this one is different — a new era, if you will. It includes all the current Olympic-class boats, plus kiteboards. It embraces Olympic veterans as well as past and present Olympic hopefuls. And it includes a select, invitation-only group of talented youth sailors, including Rogers and Parkin, some of whom are still in high school, who have been invited to play with the big kids, so to speak. They’re members of the U.S. Youth Worlds Team as well as participants in the Olympic Development Program, which began hosting camps in 2015.

olympic sailing
Four-time ICSA Women’s Singlehanded national champion Erika Reineke sails a practice race at the US Sailing Team’s Olympic Development camp in Miami. Jen Edney

“It’s the perfect balance of old guard and new blood,” says Leandro Spina, Development Director of the U.S. team. “This is when our vision comes together. We develop young talent in youth classes, and then we guide them through the first steps into an Olympic class. This is the very first camp, since we’ve had ODP in place, where we close that loop.”

What exactly is ODP? Unlike previous youth programs, there is no roster. In fact, it’s an ­educational system rather than a team.

“The idea,” says the team’s Olympic communications manager, Will Ricketson, “is to connect top youth sailors with world-class coaching.” And because it’s a system rather than a team, there is “a free flow of kids in and out of ODP, based on how they race at key evaluation events, progress in their knowledge base, and their response to coaching.”

According to Spina, Mac Agnese, age 22, r­epresents ODP bringing in the next generation of sailors. As a youth, Agnese went through now-defunct U18 and Development teams. Then he got involved in ODP.

“This is the biggest concentration of really good, young talent I’ve experienced,” says Agnese, who has won two medals in the ISAF youth worlds in two different classes and has his sights set on the Olympics in the 49er. He’s sold on the program. “All the resources and awesome coaching are provided,” says Agnese. “And you get to sail with a lot of really good sailors from around the country in a lot of different boats.” Agnese was also a college sailor and points out that while college sailing is great, “at the end of the day, you’re sailing FJs and 420s. Now, I’m sailing 49ers and cats.”

There are two other significant pieces to Spina’s loop to be completed. One is location. “From the Miami YC, we have the ocean, we have the bay, and we have what we call the middle racecourse,” says Spina. “On any given day, we can get flat water, chop, swell, shifty winds, steady winds, current and no current. And when you go out into the ocean and go south of the cut, you’ll get a different sea state than if you went north.” In other words, it provides training in virtually every condition an athlete might encounter in any venue around the world. The accommodating Miami YC, which basically turns the keys over to the team for the week, delivers a perfect training incubator.

The other piece is the 20 elite coaches who sign up to work at this camp. US Sailing’s outgoing high-performance director Charlie McKee, himself a two-time Olympic medalist, assembled the group. “We have a bunch of people who believe enough in what we are doing,” says McKee, “that they really want to be involved.”

“The coaches here have seen everything before,” says Radial sailor Christina Sakellaris, a high school senior. “Anything that happens to us on the racecourse, mentally or fitness-wise, they’ve seen it; they know how to fix it.”

She points out that working with a number of coaches is also an advantage. “This was only the second time I met Luther [Carpenter], and the way he was describing the middle zone today in the debrief really clicked for me. I know he coached Anna [Tunnicliffe] at the ­Olympics, and it’s cool because Anna’s coached me before, so now I know where she got some of the things she taught me.”

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While there are few American 49erFX sailors, the fleet in Miami was strong and included the 2016 Olympians Paris Henken and Helena Scutt, as well as a number of aspirants. Jen Edney

How the coaches approach the sailors, especially the younger ones, is what stands out most. Senior Olympic coach Carpenter, who has helped teams win five medals in four different classes, says: “Our approach to coaching these younger, talented kids is that we’re not coaching down to them. We’re coaching at the highest levels and hoping they’re going to be sponges, taking it all in.”

Stick around for the post-race debriefings, and you’ll see Carpenter’s hope materialize. On the Miami YC patio and in adjacent rooms, the sponges soak feverishly. At one table, Rulo Borojovich from Argentina, who coached Anna Tunnicliffe to a gold medal in 2008, is meeting with the Laser Radial sailors. Tunnicliffe, back in the Radial after a seven-year hiatus, is seated next to him. One table over, Ullman, who coached the U.S. women’s 470 team in ­Rio, huddles with Rogers and Parkin around a computer, looking at sail shapes. Nearby, Italian Peitro Sibello, a two-time Olympian helm in the 49er class, is reviewing 49er material, taking notes for a later meeting. In a room off the patio, Ed Baird, a top pro sailor and the last U.S. competitor to win the Laser Worlds long ago, debriefs the Laser full-rig sailors.

The most intensely focused group is found at the FX team table. Willie McBride, who coached Paris Henken and Helena Scutt, U.S. Olympic representatives in Rio, is working with the eight young women, including Henken and Scutt. They assembled before everyone else, and once other groups have broken up for the day, they’re still at it. Listen in, and you’ll hear McBride eventually wrap up the session — with homework. “I want you to think about and write down everything you think goes into a good tack,” he says. “Weight placement, mechanics, anything else that makes it work.”

The group quickly scribbles down the assignment before finally closing their notebooks.

T here’s also a playfulness that ­occasionally interrupts the camp’s serious tone. On Wednesday morning, the fleet is launching, and the two women’s 470 teams are already on the water. Rogers and Parkin’s boat is still on the dolly, jib up, as they fuss with final details.

Olympian Annie Haeger, whom Ullman coached in the last quad, shows up to drop off a mainsail for the boys. They were her training partners before the Games. She yells over to them, “Hey, the other boats are already ­heading out. Why aren’t you out there?”

Parkin responds, “We’re on Ullman time.”

To which Haeger quickly retorts: “Ullman time means on time. Get out there!”

Each day starts with Tunnicliffe leading a CrossFit workout. The first day, they do a ­half-hour warm-up of sprints and stretches, and then wrap it up with 100 burpees. It’s obvious who participated by the dirt stains on their T-shirts. A couple of the guys stumble back to the yacht club and plunge into the pool. Most everyone drops into a chair somewhere.

The tone is set.

olympic sailing
While kiteboarding is not yet in the Olympic Games, the US Sailing Team hedged its bets for Tokyo by including a fleet in the camp. Jen Edney

From here, it’s off to a tent erected to one side of the Miami YC building. Inside is a basic classroom configuration — whiteboard and flat-screen TV at one end, American flag hanging in the corner, and a sea of plastic chairs. The tent barely holds the participants, coaches and dozen or so other people involved in the program. After the first day, the tent begins filling well before the start time; it’s clear that being up front — here as well as on the starting line — has its advantages. Carpenter emcees the sessions, which focus on general information valuable to anyone — regardless of which class they sail — as well as touching on some high points from the previous day.

Next, participants meet in their specific classes. I join Ed Baird, Brett Davis and Rulo Borojovich as they meet with the Laser and Laser Radial sailors. The first day begins with introductions, and the game seems to be who can be the most modest about their achievements, perhaps because everyone realizes the caliber of athletes and coaches surrounding them. Even Baird begins by saying that he “did pretty well in the Laser a while back.” When participant Chris Barnard says, “I haven’t been in the boat in a bit…,” Baird finishes his sentence by saying, “…since you won the ­collegiate singlehanded nationals.”

And it goes on from there. At one point, Baird notices only a few people are taking notes — mostly the Radial girls — and he quickly admonishes the group. “You’ve gotta write this stuff down. You’re not gonna remember it all.”

For younger sailors, having Olympians as role models is a camp highlight. Sakellaris says: “As a youth sailor, I idolized the people I’m now getting to sail against, which is really awesome. But, it also changed my perspective. You can get down about your performance sometimes; then you meet someone who has done the Olympics and didn’t perform well, or someone who almost qualified. You understand that you’re not supposed to succeed every day. It’s supposed to be difficult.”

Afternoons are spent on the water, and there, lessons from the veterans were highly focused. “It’s really cool because if you aren’t sure what to do, just look over, and there’s the Olympic gold medalist [Anna Tunnicliffe], and you can check out what she’s doing,” says Sakellaris. “At one point, I was sailing downwind near her, and she yelled over to me: ‘Hey, don’t do that! Do this instead!’”

According to coach Mike Ingham, the old path for U.S. Olympic sailors was get good, in large part by competing in Europe, and then get funding. “Our new approach is a move away from the heavy emphasis on going to Europe,” he says, “which becomes very expensive.” It’s also clear to Ingham that “this far out, we don’t know who the superstars, the top sailors, are going to be. It’s a more collaborative approach. The seasoned people are here to set the bar.” McKee agrees. “We don’t believe in people just going off and doing their own thing. We believe in teamwork and supporting each other.”

One of the biggest challenges for younger sailors is striking a balance between big-time commitments to sailing and pressures to excel at school and establish careers. Parkin acknowledges there are going to be complications. “I think US Sailing is trying to focus on how to handle the integration of college sailing and Olympic sailing,” he says. “Wiley and I are just going to see how it goes as we go along.” Tokyo — and 2024, wherever it may be — is a long way away, but they’re on the right path.

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US Sailing Team Announces 2017 Lineup https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/us-sailing-team-announces-2017-lineup/ Tue, 28 Mar 2017 21:58:24 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=71891 The 2017 US Sailing Team will feature a mixture of newcomers and returning veterans.

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us sailing team
The 2017 US Sailing Team will feature a mixture of newcomers and returning veterans such as Rio 2016 Olympians Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.). Jen Edney/US Sailing.

US Sailing, the national governing body for the sport, has named 18 Olympic-class athletes to the 2017 US Sailing Team. The national team is selected annually and is comprised of the top sailors competing in the events selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The roster is assembled from a combination of sailors who qualified based on results in January at World Cup Series Miami 2017, and additional accomplished athletes who receive discretionary selection from the Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing, two-time Olympic Champion Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I.).

Through the US Sailing Team and its sponsors, athletes on the Olympic path receive financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing, and communications support.

“Being named to your national team in any sport is a distinct honor, but it is also important to realize that these athletes have embraced a long-term commitment to excellence,” said Page.

“In addition to displaying some fine racing results over the past year, each of these sailors have committed to a comprehensive training and competition plan for 2017″ Page continued. “We want our roster to feature athletes who are internationally competitive, progressing in their training plans, and committed to reaching the top of the podium.”

The 2017 team features seven athletes who competed in Rio 2016, and it is expected that others, including Olympic bronze medalist Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.) will return to action over the coming months.

The US Sailing Team started 2017 with good results at World Cup Series Miami, North America’s premier Olympic classes regatta.

Men’s 470 veterans Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.), the top-performing American boat in any class over the past four years, claimed their third career Miami gold medals. McNay and Hughes finished 4th overall at Rio 2016, and their near-miss of the Olympic podium has propelled them towards earning another chance in Tokyo.

Joining McNay and Hughes on the national team for the first time will be 2016 I420 Youth World Champions Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.), who have made the jump to the Olympic 470 class.

Former 49er sailor Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.), the first modern-era sailor to win U.S. national championships in two different Olympic classes before the age of 18, qualified for the team in early 2017 and transitioned to the Men’s 470 soon after. He will sail with London 2012 Men’s 470 Olympic bronze medalist Lucas Calabrese (Miami, Fla.) who has transferred nationalities from Argentina to the United States.

Together, the three U.S. Men’s 470 teams have the potential to form a highly competitive unit.

Other experienced athletes returning to the fold in 2017 are two-time Olympian, 2006 Rolex World Sailor of the Year and record five-time Laser Radial World Championship medalist Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.). The road towards Tokyo 2020 will be the fourth full-time Olympic campaign of the Floridian’s accomplished career.

Joining Railey in the Laser Radial will be longtime national team teammate and record four-time ICSA College Sailing National Singlehanded Champion Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who in 2016 had a career-best 6th place result at the Laser Radial World Championship, where Railey finished 2nd.

Holding down the men’s singlehanded classes will be Rio 2016 Olympian, 2014 North American Champion and two-time ICSA College Sailor of the Year Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) in the Laser, with 2013 Laser National Champion Luke Muller in the heavyweight Finn class. Muller marked his arrival in the top level of international Finn sailing with a 4th overall finish at World Cup Series Miami 2017, after serving as Caleb Paine’s primary training partner prior to the 2016 Olympics.

In the Nacra 17 mixed multihull, which will soon become a full-foiling class, Rio 2016 Olympians Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.) decided to split onto separate boats going forward, and both athletes have found capable new partners.

Two-time Moth class World Champion and 2009 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Gulari will sail with former 49erFX athlete, 2015 Pan American Games bronze medalist and 2016 Olympian Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.). Chafee will compete with 2014 Youth Worlds silver medalist Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.).

The US Sailing Team will feature a young and hungry group of 49er teams in 2017, with a mixture of new and returning national team sailors.

Judge Ryan (San Diego, Calif.) and Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.) finished second in the Rio Olympic selection series early last year despite a heavily truncated post-college Olympic campaign, and will look to build on that strong foundation. David Liebenberg (Livermore, Calif.) helmed the top U.S. 49er in World Cup Series Miami 2017, and competed in the internationally broadcast medal race. Brothers and Harvard University Sailing Team standouts Andrew Mollerus (Rye, N.Y.) and Matthew Mollerus (Rye, N.Y.) round out the U.S. squad in the high-performance skiff class.

In the Women’s 470, newcomers Atlantic Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Nora Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) qualified for selection to the US Sailing Team in Miami, but elected not to join the roster this year as their Tokyo 2020 campaign plans are still coalescing. The Brugman sisters will nevertheless train with national team sailors and coaches when opportunities arise in 2017.

To help American athletes achieve their goals, the U.S. Olympic sailing program is looking to build a system based on three primary goals.

“We need to ensure that we maintain a positive and cohesive team culture, focus on athlete skill-building, and create long-term performance sustainability,” said Page. “I know that we have both the talent and resources in the United States to create a top program, and I look forward to working with these 18 sailors and all others on the Olympic path to build the best team in the world.”

US Sailing Team: 2017 Roster

49er (Men’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff): • David Liebenberg (Livermore, Calif.)
• Andrew Mollerus (Rye, N.Y.) and Matthew Mollerus (Rye, N.Y.)
• Judge Ryan (San Diego, Calif.) and Hans Henken (Coronado, Calif.)

Finn (Men’s One-Person Heavyweight Dinghy):
• Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.)

Laser (Men’s One-Person Dinghy):
• Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)

Laser Radial (Women’s One-Person Dinghy):
• Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
• Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)

Men’s 470 (Men’s Two-Person Dinghy):
• Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
• Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.)
• Ian MacDiarmid (Delray Beach, Fla.)

Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull):
• Riley Gibbs (Long Beach, Calif.) and Louisa Chafee (Warwick, R.I.)
• Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.)

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USA Takes Gold in Miami https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/usa-takes-gold-in-miami/ Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:38:24 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=67772 The US Sailing Team opened the first big event of the year with a strong performance by the Olympic 470 duo.

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sailing world cup miami
Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) won their fourth Miami medal in the last five years. Jen Edney/US Sailing Team

The final five medal races were held at World Cup Series Miami 2017, Presented by Sunbrella (January 22-29, 2017) on Sunday, capping off a successful 28th year of North America’s premier Olympic classes regatta. U.S. Olympians Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) won their fourth Miami medal in the last five years, with three of those medals being gold. The veteran campaigners, who have reached the podium at top-level events more times than any other American team since 2012 once again led the US Sailing Team in the standings this week. Eight American boats competed in seven different medal races in Miami, and those sailors also became the first athletes to qualify for the 2017 US Sailing Team roster.

“We had a solid team performance this week in Miami, with eight teams making medal races, and I’m happy with what I saw out of our athletes,” said Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I.) the two-time Olympic champion who recently assumed the role of Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “We have much work ahead of us as a team, but we clearly have a great foundation not only of talented sailors, but of collective hunger for improvement.”

McNay and Hughes entered Sunday’s Men’s 470 medal race with a narrow eight point lead over Rio 2016 bronze medalists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis of Greece in the Men’s 470, and were 12 points over Tetsuya Isozaki and Akira Takayanagi of Japan. The Americans scored 5th in the medal race, which secured a four point overall victory, while the Japanese took silver and the Greeks bronze following a light and tricky contest on Biscayne Bay. McNay and Hughes were also the recipient of the Sunbrella Golden Torch Award, given to the top-performing American team in Miami each year.

“There are no relaxing moments out there on the racecourse,” said McNay, a three-time Olympian who is coming off a career-best 4th place performance in Rio 2016. “There are times when you calm the tempo and tune into the sensations more, but it’s far from relaxed. We had to work hard out there today after a tough start, but we were happy to fight back and end up with the gold.”

Hughes noted that the key to the race was transitioning their tactical and physical mindset as the conditions evolved and become lighter. “It’s taxing in the light air, and its hard to find the correct tempo [on the trapeze] at times,” said Hughes, who lives in Miami full time.

Both World Cup Series Miami champions also tipped their caps to young U.S. teammates and 2016 I420 Youth Sailing World Champions Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.), who finished an impressive 6th overall in just their second career Miami appearance. “It’s great to have some young guys around to push the old men,” said Hughes. “We’re fortunate that sailing is a sport that you can do for a long time, and as you get older its nice to know that there’s a younger generation on the way,” added McNay. Both American boats were coached this week by Olympic gold medalist Nathan Wilmot (Sydney, Australia).

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Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.), Finn class. Sailing Energy

Finishing 4th overall in the Men’s heavyweight Finn class was Luke Muller (Ft. Pierce, Fla.), who moved up one spot in the standings with a solid 4th place finish in the double-points medal race. “This is certainly my best regatta in the Finn so far,” said Muller, a 2014 U.S. Youth Worlds Team member and current Stanford University student. Muller was one of Rio 2016 bronze medalist Caleb Paine’s (San Diego, Calif.) primary training partners in the lead up to the Olympic Games, which he said was an important step in his development. “I think being asked to join Caleb in Rio was a pretty big catapult for me,” said Muller. “Caleb and [US Sailing Team Senior Olympic Coach Luther Carpenter (Cypress, Texas)] got me to where I am now. I feel like thanks to them, I can contend in this fleet. Having good speed allows you to focus on racing, tactical moves and making plays. The confidence really helps, as well as not being constantly worried about getting rolled, which you have to deal with in the beginning [of your Olympic-class career].”

Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished 9th in the Laser Radial medal race, and remained in 7th overall. “I had two confident and successful upwind legs today, and some other good highlights this week,” said Reineke, who in 2016 had a career-best 6th place result at the Laser Radial World Championship. “Finishing in the top ten here, with many of the best girls in the world, is a good starting point for the new “quad” (Olympic quadrennium). However, going forward I’ll be looking for podium finishes.”

In the Men’s Laser, U.S. Olympian Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) finished 4th in the medal race, and also remained in 7th overall. “Considering how tactically hard it was this week, with many top guys carrying deep scores, I am pretty happy with how I sailed,” said the two-time College Sailor of the Year. “I had some bad races hanging over me from the first day onward, and it was hard to climb back. Going forward, I have a very full 2017 racing schedule planned. After [the Olympic Games in] Rio, I wanted to start the Tokyo quad fast by sailing as much as I can. I’m fully focused on the Laser.”

Women’s 470 sailors Atlantic Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Nora Brugman (Palo Alto, Calif.) were among the newest teams to compete in Miami this year, but nevertheless came away with a career-first medal race appearance and a solid 8th place final result. “We’re definitely happy with how this first regatta went, and now we have a much better idea of what we need to work on,” said Atlantic Brugman, who was a two-time All-American for Connecticut College, and now works as the Assistant Sailing Coach for Stanford University. “We learned so much this week, and Nora and I owe a huge debt to [US Sailing Team 470 coach] Dave Ullman (Newport Beach, Calif.). “I can’t say enough about how great Dave was throughout this event, and the recent U.S. training camp in Miami. He kept us positive, while also wanting us to be feisty enough to push ourselves and the other teams.”

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US Sailing Team Begins Tokyo Training https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/us-sailing-team-begins-tokyo-training/ Wed, 25 Jan 2017 00:31:05 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=71951 The first stop for the 2017 Sailing World Cup in Miami brings the first step on the path to the Tokyo Olympics for US Sailing Team members and hopefuls.

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sailing world cup miami
U.S. Olympic sailors Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.) and Dave Hughes (Miami, Fla.) train in advance of the first day of racing in Miami. @Pedro Martinez / Sailing Energy / World Sailing

US Sailing Team athletes have joined over 400 competitors from 43 other nations for the 28th running of Sailing World Cup Miami, Presented by Sunbrella (January 22-29, 2017), North America’s premier Olympic-level sailing competition. Members of the Rio 2016 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team will return to action this week in Miami, which is the first major international racing event for the team since last year’s Games in Brazil. Also making a notable return this week to the Laser Radial class will be Beijing 2008 Olympic Champion Anna Tunnicliffe (Pittsburgh, Penn.).

“Sailing World Cup Miami is always an exciting event, and is one of the first to unfold at the start of a new four-year Olympic cycle,” said Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I.), a double Olympic Champion and US Sailing’s newly-installed Chief of Olympic Sailing. “This regatta brings top international competition to American shores each year, which greatly benefits athletes at all levels of our Olympic program. This is an opportunity to get the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle started right, with our veteran athletes racing at the highest level, and our younger prospects getting useful exposure to the best of the best.”

Rio 2016 Laser class Olympian Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) noted that he was eager to turn his focus towards Tokyo 2020, and that Miami represents a launching point for many sailors. “I consider this event to be the first major regatta of the “quad” (Olympic quadrennium), since most of the top guys in the Laser fleet are in attendance,” said Buckingham, a Laser North American Champion and two-time U.S. College Sailor of the Year. “This will make it a good test of everyone’s level, and help guide the plan for the 2017 season.”

Tunnicliffe has had a diverse and successful Olympic sailing career, and after her Laser Radial victory in Beijing 2008, she waged a high-powered Women’s Match Racing campaign for London 2012 in the Elliott 6m class. While Tunnicliffe and her team of Molly Vandemoer (Palo Alto, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Blue Point, N.Y.) captured a world championship title in 2011, their medal quest fell just short in London. Tunnicliffe then competed in the new 49erFX class with Vandemoer before decided to retire from Olympic competition in 2014 and focus on new challenges. In terms of her future plans, Tunnicliffe said that much has yet to be decided. “I’m just here to see how I feel, and to figure out if a new campaign is something I want to do,” said Tunnicliffe, who has also served as a coach and advisor for US Sailing Team athletes at multiple events over the past three years. “I’m coming in with no expectations, and no goals in terms of results.”

As the US Sailing Team has evolved over the years in its quest for performance gains, so too has US Sailing’s premier regatta. A notable change for Sailing World Cup Miami 2017 has been the consolidation of most classes into the city of Miami’s new Regatta Park waterfront recreation area. Regatta Park boasts many improved features over previous editions of the event for both sailors and spectators, including expanded boat staging areas, hospitality venues, food vendors and a new Fan Zone. “It’s great having all of the athletes and boats close together in Regatta Park,” said Buckingham. “The consolidated setup gives the event a similar feel to the Olympics.”

Six days of racing for the ten Olympic classes are scheduled to take place from January 24-29, with medal races scheduled for Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29. Additionally, Sailing World Cup Miami 2017 will feature the debut of the Regatta Park Fan Zone, a new effort to bring as much sailing action as possible to fans watching from shore. Spectators will get to watch live TV coverage on a large video display, with an experienced commentary team led by U.S. Olympian and 2005 Sailing World Cup Miami champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis). The medal race video feed will also be available online on Saturday and Sunday on World Sailing’s Facebook and YouTube Channels.

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American Development Program Payoff in Auckland https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/american-development-program-payoff-in-auckland/ Wed, 21 Dec 2016 05:00:31 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=67159 US Sailing's 13-member 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship Team secured three medals at the world's premier youth regatta.

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US sailing Team Sperry Youth Worlds

2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championship

420 gold medalists Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.) compete at the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. The pair went on to win gold in their class. Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

US Sailing’s 13-member 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship Team (YWT) secured three medals at the world’s premier youth regatta, including gold in the boy’s 420, silver in the Nacra 15 open multihull, and bronze in the boy’s Laser Radial. The team’s performance in Auckland is the first three-medal performance for the United States since 2011, when Americans claimed a trio of silver medals in Zadar, Croatia. 380 sailors from 65 nations competed in nine classes at the 2016 regatta, the 46th edition of the event.

“Our performance here was due to a combination of a lot of factors,” said Leandro Spina, US Sailing’s Olympic Development Director and Team Leader for the event. “This happened because a whole community came together to support our athletes. The Olympic Development Program (ODP) supports everyone who works hard to improve, and the goal is to build a foundation for the future. At the very end of this event we followed the advice of Malcolm Page, our new U.S. Olympic sailing chief, and approached the last races like we did the first.”

2016 Youth Sailing World Championship

2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championship

The International 420 podium at the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship. USA’s Wiley Rogers and Jack Parkin won gold, Israel’s Ido Bilik and Ofek Shalgi won silver, and Argentina’s Fausto Peralta and Martion Verdi won bronze. Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

In the Boy’s 420, Wiley Rogers and Jack Parkin successfully defended the championship won by fellow Americans Will Logue and Bram Brakman at the 2015 Youth Worlds, and credited a competitive and collaborative U.S. 420 community for their success. “We wanted to keep the gold medal in our country, and hold up that legacy,” said Rogers, who with Parkin missed Youth Worlds Team selection by a single point at last year’s qualifier, the U.S. Youth Championship.

“Ever since last year we’ve been focused on this. It was the first thing on our bucket list, and this result represents a full year of many hours of work. You can also see that the class has come a long way in the U.S. We’ve all been going at it and pushing each other to the top of the world,” said Rogers. Parkin noted that adaptability was the key to success this week in Auckland. “We had good speed through all conditions, and managed to grind back in a few tough situations to save our event.”

The open Nacra 15 multihull class was a new addition to the Youth Worlds for 2016, and is closely related to the Nacra 17 Olympic catamaran. Americans Romain Screve and Ian Brill, formerly top competitors in the 29er class, made a rapid but successful transition to the multihull prior to the 2016 Youth Worlds. “We didn’t come in with a lot of experience,” said Screve, who was a member of the 2015 YWT in the 29er.

“We hopped in the boat in October, and it was our first time in a cat. We had a steep learning curve, and I think the biggest thing was getting up to speed. We were not fast in the beginning, but our ODP coaches, especially Leandro Spina, Willie McBride and Raul Lopez helped us so much. The second thing that allowed us to perform here was using our tactical skills from the 29er fleet. It seems like there are a lot of cat sailors at this level who haven’t done much larger fleet racing. Our knowledge there was an advantage.”

Laser Radial athlete Carrson Pearce relied on tactical consistency to get on the podium, and secured bronze with only one race result worse than 12th in the 57-boat fleet. “I was a little bit nervous going into the final race,” said Pearce. “I was tied for 4th with the Spanish competitor, so I had to keep my eye on him. I wanted to just get a good start. After that, I stayed on top of the fleet as best I could.”

2016 Youth Sailing World Championship

2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championship

USA’s Carrson Pearce, who won bronze in the boy’s Laser Radial at the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship in Auckland. Pedro Martinez/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

Coming an agonizing two points shy of the podium after a standout week of racing was the American Girl’s 420 team of Kathryn Hall and Ashton Borcherding.The pair won the opening race of the event and led after the first day, and continued to compete close to the front of the fleet for the remainder of the event. Despite a strong 5th place finish in the final race, Hall and Borcherding finished in 4th overall.

For the medalists, this result will always stand out as a special moment. “I don’t think it’s set in yet,” said Screve, whose brother Antoine Screve medaled at the Youth Worlds in 2010. “I feel disbelief and am really excited. We’ll remember this for the rest of our lives.” Pearce agreed, and noted that the strong result was a full-squad effort. “I’m so excited for my teammates, and it was a really awesome regatta. We were all more confident in each other than we were in ourselves, and it had an impact on the results.”

“I’m just as proud of our whole team as I am of the medalists,” said Spina, who has now helped oversee 12 medal-winning performances for the U.S. at the Youth Worlds since 2010. “The way they approached the event was fantastic. We managed distractions very well this week, and our sailors stayed focused on their jobs each day. I was just honored to be here to witness it.”

Final Results:

1st overall, International 420: Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.) 2nd overall, Nacra 15: Romain Screve (Kentfield, Calif.) and Ian Brill (San Diego, Calif.) 3rd overall, Laser Radial Boys: Carrson Pearce (Manahawkin, N.J.) 4th overall, International 420 (girl’s two person dinghy): Kathryn Hall (Haverford, Penn.) and Ashton Borcherding (Greenwich, Conn.) 15th overall, Laser Radial Girls: Sophia Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 14th overall, 29er: Ryan Ratliffe (San Diego, Calif.) and Sam Merson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) 16th overall, RS:X: Geronimo Nores (Miami Beach, Fla.) 22nd overall, 29er: Louisa Nordstrom (Osprey, Fla.) and Catherine Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.)

Nations Trophy: 6th

More information about the 2016 Youth Worlds, visit the event website.

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