|
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (August 12, 2010) – US SAILING’s 2010 Junior and Youth Championships season reaches its pinnacle in August. US SAILING will ride the momentum from the three successful summer events into next week's US SAILING's 2010 Chubb U.S. Junior Championships in San Diego, Calif. Sailors between the ages of 13 and 18 qualified to represent their region through ladder event eliminations held among more than 1,000 yacht clubs and 150 community sailing programs across country to compete in three disciplines - Lasers (singlehanded), Club 420s (doublehanded), and Lightnings (triplehanded). Chubb’s U.S. Junior Championships, hosted by the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs, begins on Monday, Aug. 16 and runs through Wednesday, Aug. 18.
The singlehanded fleet features familiar names from last week’s U.S. Youth Sailing Championships’ Laser Division. John Wallace (St. Petersburg Yacht Club) was dominant in his convincing win, and is poised to make a run at the Smythe Trophy. Trey Hartman (Lakewood Yacht Club) was second to Wallace last week, and seventh at last year’s championship in the singlehanded fleet. Lucas Adams (Sail Newport) finished fourth at the Youth Champs last week. While he was second in last year’s triplehanded fleet, this is his first appearance at this event sailing singlehanded. The 2009 U.S. Junior Doublehanded Champion Kieran Chung (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) is also making the switch to the singlehanded fleet this time around.
2010 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Champions (USJWDC), Kate Rakelly (Mission Bay Yacht Club) and Colleen Hackett (Mission Bay Yacht Club), lead a talented doublehanded fleet. They will be challenged by Pearson Potts (New York Yacht Club / FAST) and Caitlin Connerney (Ida Lewis Yacht Club / FAST), who just won the 2010 Club 420 North American Championships. Gram Slattery (Eastern Yacht Club) and Brian Drumm (Eastern Yacht Club) finished second at the Youth Championships last week, and Holly Tullo (Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club) and Haley Fox (Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club) will try to improve on their third place finish at this year’s USJWDC to be awarded the Bemis Trophy.
Dylan Vogel and crewmates Sam Hallowell and Casey Brown, all representing Sail Newport, have high hopes of challenging for this year’s title and to have their names on engraved on the Sears Trophy, US SAILING’s oldest junior trophy. Vogel and Hallowell are no strangers to this event. Last year as crew, they finished second in the triplehanded fleet, and in 2008 they gained third place honors. Korbin Kirk (Long Beach Yacht Club), Michael Dahl (Newport Harbor Yacht Club), and Daniel Segerblom (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) will also challenge for the triplehanded championship. Kirk, alongside his sister Haley, was the 2008 U.S. Junior Doublehanded Champion. Still it won’t be easy as two time defending triplehanded champions, Scott and Evan Hoffmann (Mission Bay Yacht Club), will be joined by Reece Bernet this year (Southwestern Yacht Club).
The championship is sponsored by Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Gill North America, LaserPerformance, and Hobie Sunglasses. Competition is just a part of the experience associated with this great series. Clinics will be held for each fleet, including the Gill College Night seminar this Sunday, Aug. 15 featuring Frank Ustach, US SAILING’s Junior National Coach; Scott Ikle, head coach at Hobart and William Smith Colleges; and Mitch Brindley, head coach at Old Dominion University. Additionally sportsmanship trophies are awarded in all three fleets as well as a shipshape award for the triplehanded team that keeps their borrowed boats in the best condition.
Check back for daily recaps, standings, Sailgroove videos, photo galleries, and more. To get up-to-the-minute updates from the championship, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
On behalf of the host yacht clubs and organizing committee I want to welcome to the 2010 US SAILING Chubb US Junior National Sailing Championship. The San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs Junior Activities Committee is unique in the country for the cooperative effort we have in running major junior events and this is no exception. While you may only visit three of our member clubs during the event individuals from all will be helping out.
San Diego has a long history of hosting major championship events and training world class sailors and we are excited to have you here.
Make sure you keep checking back to this website for updates, news and once the event gets underway for live results, pictures and videos. Even though you may be thousands of miles away we want you to feel like you are here with the sailors.
Danielle Richards
Regatta Chair
|
|
|
