Archived News

US SAILING Names 2008 Athletes of the Year

SportsWoman of the Year – Anna Tunnicliffe
SportsMan of the Year – Zach Railey
Team of the Year – Nick Scandone and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker
Paralympian of the Year – John Ruf

Portsmouth, RI (Dec 17) – US Sailing has chosen five 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games medalists and US Sailing Teams AlphaGraphics members as the sport’s 2008 Athlete of the Year for outstanding performance and achievement this year. US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee has named Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) as SportsWoman and SportsMan of the Year, respectively. Paralympic Gold Medalists Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) have been chosen as the Team of the Year, and Paralympic Bronze Medalist John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wis.) is the Paralympian of the Year.

The OSC has nominated these sailing winners to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for consideration for the Athletes of the Year Awards across all Olympic and Paralympic sports. In January, the USOC will announce their winners.

US SAILING’s 2008 SportsWoman of the Year
Anna Tunnicliffe won a coveted gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, China, entering the history books as the first American female sailor in 20 years to win gold at the Olympic Games. While the Laser Radial fleet was competitive and the finish came down to the last nail-biting race, world #1-ranked Tunnicliffe proved her talent and athleticism on the Olympic stage with grace and sportsmanship. She sailed a consistent and smart series in a variety of wind conditions ranging from calm to typhoon-influenced days. US Sailing Team Coach Luther Carpenter (La Porte, Texas), said, “Anna is your dream athlete. She’s a hard worker, in amazing shape, very open to coaching, completely driven and she sees a path clearly to winning.” A true all-round athlete, her fitness has been a key to her dominant performances in the Laser Radial class. Tunnicliffe has also been named a nominee for US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award.

US SAILING’s 2008 SportsMan of the Year
Zach Railey surprised the sailing world by winning a silver medal in the Finn class at the 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, China. Railey’s silver medal was remarkable and unexpected: Going into the regatta, he wasn’t favored to win a medal, but Railey sailed one of the best regattas of his career and proved his talent and athleticism. He battled Qingdao's inconsistent and moody conditions, stormy seas and tough international competition by sailing a conservative and smart regatta. In addition, his rigorous training, physical prowess and smart tactical moves helped him stay ahead of his competitors. Railey said he felt "complete euphoria" to win silver at his first Olympic Games. “It feels amazing,” he said. “All of that hard work was worth that moment and I just wish it had lasted a little longer!” Railey has also been named a nominee for US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award.

US SAILING's 2008 Team of the Year
Nick Scandone and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker won a gold medal at the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Regatta in Qingdao, China. Thanks to a substantial lead in the SKUD-18 fleet, they clinched the gold medal a day early and with two races left to go. While they had only been sailing together for a year, Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker proved to be an unstoppable force in a competitive doublehanded fleet. Their win was also the first time the U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team has won a gold medal in the history of the Games; McKinnon-Tucker was also the first female gold medalist in the history of the Paralympic Sailing Regatta.

Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker endured an especially challenging Paralympic campaign this year, as they, and their families, overcame many medical obstacles. “Winning the gold makes the struggle we both had to get here that much more worthwhile,” said McKinnon-Tucker. Scandone personally beat the odds of his disease, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, by not only being strong enough to compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games, but by winning the gold medal with two races left to go. “It’s been such a long road to get [to the 2008 Games],” said Scandone. “It’s emotionally overwhelming for me to finally realize my goal.” There were countless days filled with doubt, exhaustion and adversity, but they met each challenge with incredible strength and determination. Their gold medal embodies not only their talent on the water, but their hard work, sportsmanship and positive outlook. Both Scandone and McKinnon-Tucker have also been nominated for US SAILING’s 2008 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards, respectively.

US SAILING’s 2008 Paralympian of the Year
John Ruf exceeded expectations by winning an impressive bronze medal in a tight 2.4 mR fleet at the 2008 Paralympic Regatta in Qingdao, China. Surrounded by previous Paralympic medalists and world champions, first-time Paralympian Ruf peaked at the 2008 Games and proved his talent by claiming his place on the podium. (His rivals included France’s Damien Seguin, the defending gold medalist, Germany’s Heiker Kroger who won a gold medal in 2000, and The Netherlands’ Thierry Schmitter who won bronze in 2004.) “He came into this as an underdog,” said the U.S. Paralympic Sailing Team’s Head Coach Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), who credited his medal to his strong work ethic and his determination to improve his boat speed. A year ago, Ruf finished tenth overall at the 2008 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship in Rochester, N.Y. “Since then, he has jumped to the forefront and onto the leader board,” said Alison. “It’s a fantastic achievement.”

US Finn Class Launches Development Program

The US Finn Association is launching a development program designed to introduce single-handed sailors under the age of 21 to the Finn and international competition. Selected sailors will be provided a Finn for one year at a nominal cost, access to US Sailing and Finn class training camps, shared coaching and reduced transportation costs to international events. Similar to the US SAILING “Pipeline” program announced in November, this program introduces top junior and collegiate sailors to Olympic development sailing, and is particularly well suited to 85 kg plus sailors who wish to compete in single-handed Olympic class sailing. One sailor will be selected for 2009, with the class aiming to seek additional financial resources so as to expand the program in subsequent years. Selection will be by resume, and the selected sailor will be expected to compete in all major US regattas and training camps, as well as some international events. The selected sailor will work closely with 2008 Silver Medalist Zach Railey and US Sailing High Performance Coach Kenneth Andreasen.

Zach Railey started sailing Finns less than four years ago when he outgrew the Laser. Under the watchful eye of Canadian Olympic Finn sailor Chris Cook, Zach developed rapidly and moved to the top of the US Finn class in 2006. After winning the US Team Trials in October 2007, Zach worked extensively with top Finn sailors Jonas Christensen, PJ Postma, Ed Wright and others to climb into medal race contention in most of his 2008 events. Zach concluded a successful quadrennium with an outstanding regatta in Qingdao and an Olympic Silver Medal. The goal of the Finn Association is simple: we want to develop the next Zach Railey who can compete for Olympic selection in 2012 and beyond.

The potential training and racing schedule includes the following (subject to modification based upon selected sailor’s school schedule):
US Sailing Training Camp January 2009
Miami OCR January 25-31, 2009
US Finn Midwinter’s (Ft. Lauderdale) February 12-15, 2009
Princess Sofia (Spain) April 4-10, 2009
Kiel Week (Germany) June 23-29, 2009
Finn Gold Cup (Denmark) July 3-11, 2009
North Americans (CORK) August 20-23, 2009
US Finn Nationals (New Orleans) September 11-13, 2009

Please submit your resume (or questions) by December 19, 2008 to Scott Mason at smasonfinn@yahoo.com. The resume should include personal information, height & weight, 5 year sailing results, sailing objectives for the next 2-4 years, 2009 sailing plan if selected for the Finn, and any other pertinent information. Selection will be announced by December 23, 2008.

The selection committee will include members of the US Finn Association Executive Committee and US Sailing Olympic Committee.

We look forward to your application. Scott Mason, US Finn Association Secretary  Full details here.

World Match Racing Tour Announces 2009 Schedule

The World Match Racing Tour has announced its provisional schedule of events for 2009. The Tour will consist of 9 stages running from May to December 2009. Sanctioned by the ISAF (International Sailing Federation), the overall winner of the Tour will be crowned 2009 ISAF World Match Racing Champion. Skippers earn points towards the world championship at each of the nine stages. A total of 100 points are awarded to the top eight finishers: 25 points for first, 20 for second, 15 for third, 12 for fourth, 10 for fifth, 8 for sixth, 6 for seventh and 4 for eighth. Skippers will be allowed to count a maximum of five finishes plus the Monsoon Cup, regardless of the number of stages they’ve raced.

2009 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
DRAFT: 2009 ISAF MATCH RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Stage Date Event Location Teams Prize Fund Boats
1 May 27 – 31 Match Race Germany Langenargen, Germany 12 $50,000 Bavaria 36
2 June 2 - 7 Korea Match Cup Gyeonggi, Korea 12 300 M won KM36
3 June 9 - 14 Portugal Match Cup Troia, Portugal 12 €100,000 SM40
4 June 29 - Jul 5 Match Cup Sweden Marstrand, Sweden 12 $200,000 DS37
5 September 1 - 6 St Moritz Match Race St Moritz 12 ChF150,000 BLU26
6 September 9 – 13 Danish Open Frederikshavn, Denmark 12 $50,000 DS37
7 September 22 – 27 Brasil Sailing Cup TBC, Brazil 12 €100,000 SM40
8 October 5 - 11 Bermuda Gold Cup Hamilton, Bermuda 24 $100,000 IOD
9 December 1 - 6 Monsoon Cup K.Terengganu, Malaysia 12 RM 1 Million F36

Registration Open for 2009 US Youth World Qualifier

Online registration is open for eligible Laser Radial racers (boys and girls) born in 1991 or after to compete in the 2009 US SAILING ISAF Youth World Qualifier and U.S. Youth Multihull Championship Regatta. Hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC), Long Beach, CA, the regatta will be held January 17-19, 2009.  To register online, click here.

The 2009 Youth World Qualifier Regatta is open to all American competitors (skipper and crew) who were born in 1991 or later. Athletes must also be members of US SAILING to be eligible. The winners of the multihull division will be named 2009 U.S. Youth Multihull Champions and awarded the Arthur J Stevens Trophy. The W. Darline Hobock Sportsmanship Award will be presented to the competitor(s) in the multihull class who epitomize good sportsmanship, as determined by the Youth Multihull Committee.

Racing will be held in the following classes: Laser Radial (boys' one person dinghy and girls' one person dinghy), I 420 (boys' two person dinghy), Club 420 (girls' two person dinghy) and Hobie 16 with spinnaker (open multihull). Athletes who wish to compete in the boys' and girls' windsurfing classes at the 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship will be chosen by resume, and do not need to compete at the 2009 Youth World Qualifier. Submissions should be emailed to Olympics@ussailing.org by January 9, 2009. Sailors competing in the boys' and girls' two person dinghy classes must pre-qualify at the 2008 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival -- Orange Bowl International Regatta, which will be held December 27-30, 2008, in Miami, Fla. The top nine girls' teams and top nine boys’ teams will qualify to compete at the 2009 Youth World Qualifier Regatta.

Competitors can learn more information about the regatta, read the NOR and register online on the event web site.

Registration Open for 2009 Miami OCR

Portsmouth, R.I. (December 2, 2008) – Mandatory, online registration for US SAILING’s 2009 Rolex Miami OCR opens today at the event web site www.RolexMiamiOCR.org. All competitors and coaches must register online before January 19, 2009, as there will be no on-site registration. Women’s match racing teams have an earlier deadline of December 16, 2008. The 2009 event, scheduled for Sunday, January 25 through Saturday, January 31, with racing beginning on Monday, is one of seven events chosen by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) for the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup.

Classes to Compete
US SAILING's 2009 Rolex Miami OCR is open to the classes chosen by ISAF for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions, except for the equipment used for women’s match racing. Last month, ISAF announced that the three-person Elliott 6 will be equipment used for the Women’s Match Racing Event for the 2012 Olympic Games, replacing Women’s Fleet Racing. Because that boat is not available in time for US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR, the regatta will use the SB3 Laser Standard with an asymmetrical spinnaker.

Therefore, the 11 Olympic classes competing at the Rolex Miami OCR are: Laser Radial, Laser, Finn, RS:X Men, RS:X Women, 49ers, 470 Men, 470 Women, Star and SB3 Laser Standard with asymmetrical spinnaker. The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR, SKUD-18 and Sonar.

US SAILING’s 2009 Rolex Miami OCR will also be the only ranking regatta for American athletes who aspire to make the 2009 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and US Disabled Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Based solely on the results at this regatta, US SAILING will recognize the top three boats in each class for both teams.

Special Registration for Women’s Match Racing
All women’s match racing teams or Member National Authorities (MNAs) must indicate their interest by registering before December 16, 2008. After assessing the number of entries for women’s match racing, the organizing committee will announce the accepted teams on December 18, 2008. They will also include any additional competition instructions for women’s match racing teams.

For all other classes, registration closes on January 19, 2009. Please visit www.RolexMiamiOCR.org for the amended Notice of Race.

Boats Announced for 2010 US Sailing Youth Worlds Qualifier

Portsmouth, R.I. (November 18, 2008) – US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee announced today the equipment for the 2010 US SAILING International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Qualifier, which will be held January 16-18, 2010 at Clearwater Yacht Club in Clearwater, Florida. All entrants are required to bring their own boats.

Competition will be held in eight events, using the following equipment:

Singlehanded boys: Laser Radial
Singlehanded girls: Laser Radial
Doublehanded boys: International 420
Doublehanded girls: International 420
Open multihull: SL16
Boys boards: RS:X
Girls boards: RS:X
Open skiff: 29er
The winner of each event will receive invitations to represent the United States at the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, July 8-17, 2010. The Notice of Race for the 2010 ISAF Youth World Qualifier will be posted after the 2009 US SAILING ISAF Youth World Qualifier, which will be held January 17-19, 2009.

International Lightning Boat-Grant Program Marks its Third Year

The International Lightning Class Association (ILCA) is accepting applications for the third year of its innovative Boat Grant program, which puts race-ready Lightnings into the hands of sailors who might otherwise not have the opportunity. The deadline for the 2009 program is December 31, 2008. Applications can be found at http://www.lightningclass.org/Boat_Grant/about.htm. The ILCA class website also has blog reports and video from past years' grantees as well as additional information about the Lightning class.

The ILCA Boat-Grant program includes a Lightning with trailer, new sails, insurance, fee supplements, and support from an established Lightning sailing mentor. The program provides young sailors -- students or those just beginning their working careers, who can't afford to buy and campaign a competitive 3-person dinghy like the Lightning ¬¬-- with all they need to sail against some of the best racers in the world.

The Boat-Grant program started in 2007, when Lightning Class volunteers Allan Terhune and Bill Fastiggi proposed a bold strategy for attracting and retaining young sailors to the class. Why not, they asked, give a young team of sailors a boat for a season? Fastiggi and Terhune were awarded U.S. Sailing's One-Design Leadership Award in 2007 for their efforts.

The program started modestly, with a single boat, but quickly grew to four boats in the first year.  By the second year, the Lightning Class had five racing boats and a "developmental" boat designated for local racing. Both Nickels Boat Works and Allen Boat Company provided the use of a new boat for the 2009 season, while two recent-vintage Lightnings were donated outright to the ILCA for use in the Boat Grant Program. North Sails, Quantum Sails, Vermont Sailing Partners, and members of the class have all generously donated new sails and gear.  

US Sailing Announces Olympic Training Pipeline for U-18 and U-23 Sailors


Applications for New 2009 US Sailing Team – U18, US Sailing Team – U23 Now Being Accepted

Portsmouth, RI (November 18) – US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) is proud to announce a new Olympic sailing training pipeline, which will help guide talented sailors from youth programs to the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program. As part of the new pipeline, the OSC will launch two new teams in 2009: The US Sailing Team – U18 (Under 18) and US Sailing Team – U23 (Under 23). As a long-time supporter of youth racing, LaserPerformance has signed on as the official sponsor of both teams. US SAILING will provide the teams with elite-level coaching, as well as educational, administrative and logistical support throughout the year. The country’s top youth sailors will gain invaluable experience by competing at major national and international regattas, learn how to campaign for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and choose, prepare and maintain equipment.
 
Formerly known as the Elite Youth Development Team, the US Sailing Team – U18 and US Sailing Team – U23 were created for athletes who have been identified as future Olympic prospects. The US Sailing Team – U18 will include the top sailors in the Laser Radial (boys), Laser Radial (girls), 29er (open) and I420 (boys or girls) classes, who were born after 1991. The OSC will accept up to five boats in each class for the U18 team. The US Sailing Team – U23 will consist of the top two sailors born after 1986 in each of the Laser (men) and Laser Radial (women) classes. Members of the U23 team may also compete concurrently at the college level.
 
US SAILING is currently accepting applications for the 2009 US Sailing Team – U18 and US Sailing Team U-23 from sailors who fit the age and class requirements and are current members of US SAILING.  Team members will be selected by sailing resume, including regatta results and awards, as well as a proposed training plan for the 2009 season. Sailors who have qualified for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) will not be eligible for the U18 or U23 teams.
 
Team members must be available to train and compete for a minimum of 65 days a year. Applicants should also specify which regattas they are available to compete at in 2009: 



·         USSTAG Training Camp, all classes except Laser Radial, Miami, Fla. (February 14-16)
·         Laser Radial Women’s North American Championship, Radial girls, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (February 12-15)
·         Laser Midwinters East, Laser and Laser Radial girls and boys, Clearwater, Fla. (February 19-22)
·         USSTAG Physical Training Camp, all classes, Chula Vista, Calif. (March 12-15)
·         California International Sailing Association (CISA) Clinic, all classes, Long Beach, Calif. (April 4-7)
·         USSTAG Training Camp, all U23 classes, Kiel, Germany (June 13-16)
·         USSTAG Training Camp, all U18 classes, Kiel, Germany (June 22-24)
·         Kiel Week, 420 and 29er, Kiel, Germany (June 19-25)

·         Kiel Week, Laser and Laser Radial girls and boys, Kiel, Germany (June 25-28)

·         USSTAG Training Camp, all classes, Kiel, Germany (June 29 – July 4)

·         European Laser Radial Youth Championship, Laser Radial girls and boys, Charlottenlund, Denmark  (July 1-8)

·         European Laser Radial Women’s Championship, Laser Radial all ages, Charlottenlund, Denmark (July 9-16)

·         29er World Championship, 29er, Riva, Lake Garda, Italy (July 19-25)

·         I420 Worlds Championship, I420, Lake Garda, Italy (July 27 – August 5)

·        I420 Junior European Championship, I420, Lake Balaton, Hungary (August 10-18)



Sailors interested in being considered for the team should e-mail a cover letter, sailing resume, training and regatta plan and headshot to US SAILING’s High Performance Director Kenneth Andreasen and US SAILING’s Olympic Director Katie Kelly at Olympics@ussailing.org <mailto:Olympics@ussailing.org> . The deadline for applications is Sunday, December 7, 2008. Team members will be announced by Friday, December 19, 2008.   
 

ISAF Adds 29er to Youth Worlds lineup

The Council of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has accepted a proposal to add a new Open High Performance Dinghy event to the Youth World Championship, beginning with the 2010 Youth Worlds in Turkey. The class to be used is the 29er and the event will be open to male, female or mixed crews.
     The move was passed by 33 votes to 3, and the slate for the ISAF Youth Worlds will now be single hander (Boys and Girls), doublehander (Boys and Girls), windsurfer (Boys and Girls), multihull (Open) and skiff (Open). The decision will bring to an end the swapping of classes between the 420 and 29er, and will align the Youth classes with the Olympic classes (with the temporary exception of the multihull) making for a steadier progression.

ISAF Keeps 470 for Women at 2012 Olympics!

The ISAF Council, at its 2008 annual meeting in Madrid, has just selected the 470 as the Women's Two-Person Dinghy for the 2012 Olympics in Weymouth, England. Though several committees had recommended selection of the 29erXX to replace the 470, the Council ultimately decided to stay with the class that has been the women's two-person boat since this discipline was added to the Olympics in 1988 in Korea. In a related decision, the Council selected the Elliott 6M as the boat for the Women's Match Racing event in 2012. The Council had considered delaying the choice of a match racing boat, but decided to go ahead with the selection. In the other eight disciplines, the Council selected the same classes that were sailed at the recent Olympic sailing Events in China (see list below). They also confirmed that there will be no multihull event in the 2012 Games. 

Sailing Equipment Selected for 2012 Olympic Games
Women’s Windsurfing - RS:X
Men’s Windsurfing - RS:X
Women’s 1 Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Men’s 1 Person Dinghy - Laser
Men’s 1 Person Dinghy (heavyweight) - Finn
Women’s 2 Person Dinghy - 470
Men’s 2 Person Dinghy - 470
Men’s 2 Person Dinghy (high performance) - 49er
Women’s Keelboat Match - Elliott 6M
Men’s Keelboat - Star

-- Complete ISAF report: http://www.sailing.org/26112.htm

2009 Rolex Women's Keelboat In Rochester

Rochester, N.Y., USA (November 5, 2008) – Organizers of US SAILING’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship (IWKC) have announced a change in venue and dates for the next running of this biennial regatta. Due to the impact of September’s Hurricane Ike on the greater Houston area, including the Galveston Bay communities of Clear Lake, Kemah, La Porte and Shoreacres, where the Houston Yacht Club (HYC) is situated, the organizing committee made the difficult decision to pass the helm to another club and not host the 2009 regatta.  The new host is Rochester Yacht Club (RYC), N.Y., and the new dates for the event are October 7-10, 2009.
 
“We are deeply saddened that Houston Yacht Club will not be able to run the Rolex IWKC again in 2009,” said Taran Teague (Annapolis, Md.), chair of US SAILING’s International Women’s Keelboat Committee, which oversees the Rolex IWKC.  “The hospitality from Ginny Garrett’s big Texas team was unbelievable in 2007!  The high-level race management and personal attention to details from Jim Tichenor's race committee was spectacular.  He tells me that HYC will be back again to host another Rolex IWKC and other high level regattas. They will be missed as a host in 2009, but never forgotten.  We extend our sincere invitation to HYC and the other sailors from Texas to join us in Rochester for 2009.”
 
Four days of racing on Lake Ontario will be preceded by the Next Step to Rolex program, a developmental program for girls age 13-17 that seeks to offer keelboat training in a mentoring atmosphere, and two days of boat measurement and registration on Oct. 4-5.  Every day after racing, RYC will host a casual dockside happy hour where competitors can debrief, rehydrate and relax, while parties will take place each evening with the regatta culminating at the traditional Rolex gala and awards presentation where a Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the winning boat’s skipper.
 
Founded in 1985 by US SAILING and Rolex, the regatta is considered one of the world’s pinnacle events for women sailors. The Rolex IWKC utilizes the International J/22 class keelboat, suitable for four-person teams.  Previous competitors have included Olympic medalists, America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veterans, world champions and US SAILING’s Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year, in addition to women of all ages with varying levels of racing experience. 
 
A Preliminary Notice of Race will be posted online in early 2009 at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/RIWKC.htm.   Contact Event Chair Anne Beadling by email at riwkc09@gmail.com or the Rochester Yacht Club at 585-342-5511. For more information about the 2009 Rolex IWKC or to subscribe to news updates, visit http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/RIWKC.htm.

Rolex Miami OCR Notice of Race Available Online

ISAF To Decide 2012 Olympic Classes

The 2008 ISAF Annual Conference takes place in Madrid, Spain from November 6 to 16, and one of its biggest decisions will be selection of the classes for the 2012 Summer Olympic sailing events, which will take place in Weymouth, England at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. At its 2007 Annual Conference, the ISAF Council selected 10 events for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. These are:
One person dinghy - Men
One person dinghy heavy - Men
Two person dinghy - Men
Two person dinghy high performance - Men
Windsurfer - Men
Keelboat - Men
One person dinghy - Women
Two person dinghy - Women
Keelboat match racing - Women
Windsurfer - Women
The ISAF Council will now select the equipment (i.e. the boat classes) for these ten sailing events. Among the proposals that have been submitted to ISAF are recommendations to add an eleventh event, add a multihull event and change the ten events that have been selected. Stay tuned fo this space for an update as soon as a decision is announced!

Kenneth Andreasen is new US Olympic Sailing Head Coach

Portsmouth, R.I. (September 24, 2008) – Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.) has been named the new High Performance Director of the Olympic Sailing Program, US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, announced today. His responsibilities will include managing all on-the-water elements of the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Programs and enabling sailors to reach the highest level of competition for the next Olympic and Paralympic quadrenniums. Andreasen joins Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.) and Olympic Director Katie Kelly (Barrington, R.I.) on the executive team.

Andreasen replaces Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), who is retiring this fall after serving as the program's first High Performance Director for the last decade. Bodie has been instrumental in transforming the Olympic Sailing Program from an amateur sport to a year-round, full-time, professional sport. When Bodie first took on the challenge, most sailors only sailed three major, international regattas: the World Championship in their respective class, US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR and the Olympic Games. "We needed to enable, encourage and incentivize the sailors to train year round and to compete against major international athletes," said Bodie. "You can't get to the elite level competing in your own backyard."

Thanks to Bodie and the support of the Olympic Sailing Program, serious sailors now compete full-time around the world, competing at the biggest, most competitive international regattas in the world. In order to make sailing year-round possible, Bodie helped revamp a new ranking system for each class, which eradicated criss-crossing the United States to compete at ranking regattas. While the Olympic program raised more money to fund travel and logistics, Bodie organized shipping and implemented quality, in-depth coaching for all the athletes. He, along with US SAILING coaches, focused on spending a substantial amount of time with sailors in order to make a real difference in their sailing and their Olympic campaigns. As a result, the quality of sailing has substantially increased, proven by 11 podium finishes in 2008, not to mention a gold and silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Bodie will not be a stranger to US SAILING: He will continue his role as the delegate to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) where he serves as the US SAILING/ISAF liaison on several committees. He will also continue to organize US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR, a Sailing World Cup event that has become a must-sail regatta for top international competitors every January.

"It's been a wonderful ride. I wouldn't trade a minute of it," said Bodie, who looks forward to sailing his trimaran for the first time in three years. "It's time for the program to have some fresh ideas and energy, so I'm really excited for Kenneth. He's the right guy and he'll bring all that."

"I have some big shoes to fill," said Andreasen. "Gary Bodie has taken the program very far from where it was 10 years ago, and I hope to be able to further build on his successes and take it to the next level."

Andreasen brings more than 20 years of extensive coaching experience to US SAILING. He was first tapped for his coaching talent when he was only a teenager living in Denmark. After 10 years of coaching in Denmark, he moved to the United States in 1994 to become the coach at the St Petersburg Yacht Club in Florida. Five years later, he became the Director of Sailing at the United States Optimist Dinghy Association (USODA), where he coached the national team, trained regatta management, and was instrumental in fleet and class building. In 2006, Finn sailor Zach Railey called Andreasen to coach him in his Olympic campaign for the 2008 Olympic Games in China. After two years of hard work, intense training, dedication and impressive international results, Railey succeeded in bringing home an Olympic silver medal last month from Qingdao, China.

In his new position at US SAILING, Andreasen plans to focus on discovering the keys to unlocking each sailor's potential for success, based on their individual needs, skill sets and experiences. Andreasen's formal education in physical training and psychology has helped form his strong ability to tackle the physical and mental game of sailing at the Olympic and Paralympic level. An integral part of the process, he says, is guiding sailors to make their own decisions and leading them down a path of what will work for them. "I'm very good at getting sailors ready for what they need to do, he said.

Another goal is to build a strong team atmosphere where sailors and coaches share information together as a team. “There are so many talented sailors on the team,” he said. “Everyone has a lesson someone else can learn from. If we can collectively share our experiences and learn from our teammates, it will inevitably make us better as a team."

"Sailing is, and has been, my life," said Andreasen. "It has given me so many experiences. I have visited so many places around the world I never would have visited otherwise. I have been honored to be involved with so many talented sailors and coaches from whom I have learned valuable lessons. I think we can learn from sailors from different cultures and mindsets, and put together an incredibly competitive program."

Andreasen lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, Annette, and their two-year-old son, Nicklas.

For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program, please visit: olympics.ussailing.org/Olympics.htm

About the US SAILING Olympic Sailing Program
The athletes of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Team are selected, trained, and managed by US SAILING, national governing body for the sport of sailing. The top three athletes in each Olympic and Paralympic class are part of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. For more information about the athletes of the U.S. Olympic Team for Sailing, please visit www.ussailing.org.

NOR Posted for 2009 Youth World Qualifier

Portsmouth, R.I. (October 15, 2008) – The Notice of Race for the 2009 US SAILING International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Qualifier and U.S. Youth Multihull Championship Regatta has been posted online, US SAILING announced today. Hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club of Long Beach, Calif., the regatta will be held from January 17-19, 2009. In its second year, the 2009 Youth World Qualifier Regatta is a multi-class event that will determine the sailors who will represent the United States at the 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Buzios, Brazil from July 9-18, 2009.

Racing will be held in the following classes: Laser Radial (boys' one person dinghy and girls' one person dinghy), I 420 (boys' two person dinghy), Club 420 (girls' two person dinghy) and Hobie 16 with spinnaker (open multihull). Athletes who wish to compete in the boys' and girls' windsurfing classes at the 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship will be chosen by resume, and do not need to compete at the 2009 Youth World Qualifier. Submissions should be emailed to Olympics@ussailing.org by January 9, 2009. Sailors competing in the boys' and girls' two person dinghy classes must pre-qualify at the 2008 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival -- Orange Bowl International Regatta, which will be held December 27-30, 2008, in Miami, Fla. The top nine girls' teams and top nine boys’ teams will qualify to compete at the 2009 Youth World Qualifier Regatta.

The 2009 Youth World Qualifier Regatta is open to all American competitors (skipper and crew) who were born in 1991 or later. Athletes must also be members of US SAILING to be eligible.

The winners of the multihull division will be named 2009 U.S. Youth Multihull Champions and awarded the Arthur J Stevens Trophy. The W. Darline Hobock Sportsmanship Award will be presented to the competitor(s) in the multihull class who epitomize good sportsmanship, as determined by the Youth Multihull Committee.

The 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship drew 236 of the world's best youth sailors from 60 nations, who competed for 30 medals.

Competitors can learn more information about the regatta, read the NOR and register online on the event web site: www.abyc.org/event.cfm?id=324. Sailors can also contact Event Chair Steve Smith at salaor@sbcglobal.net.

ABOUT US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.The US Olympic Sailing Committee recently announced the selection process for doublehanded teams who want to qualify for the 2009 ISAF Youth World Championship in Brazil. The Orange Bowl Regatta in Miami (December 26-30) will be used to select the top nine all-male Club 420 teams and the top nine all-female Club 420 teams. These 18 teams will then sail in a qualifying regatta at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA, on January 17-19, 2009. There the boys will sail in International 420s (provided by CISA) and the girls will compete in Club 420s (bring or charter your own). The top finisher from each fleet will qualify to represent the US at the Youth Worlds in Buzios, Brazil from July 9-18, 2009.
The Youth World Qualifying Regatta at Alamitos Bay will also include girls singlehanded (Laser Radial) and boys singlehanded (Laser Radial), which will be open entry. The US Olympic Sailing Committee is considering how to select sailors in the multihull (Hobie 16) and RS:X sailboard classes. The regatta Notice of Race and further details will be posted soon on the US Sailing web site.

2008 Olympics - US Sailing Team Wrap-up

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Foundation Launches Web Site for Racing Sailors

Southport, CT (September 17, 2008) – The Southport Sailing Foundation, based in Southport, Conn., today announced the launch of a new website designed to help young American sailors plan more successful racing campaigns. The new site, called www.CleverPig.org, is designed for any sailor who wants to take the next step in their sailing career, whether he or she is a veteran racer aiming toward the Olympics or a young sailor preparing for their first national regatta.
 
According to Dave Perry, a Foundation director, “When sailors want to organize a campaign or simply raise the level of their game, there is so much to do beyond just racing their boat fast. The idea behind CleverPig.org is to provide a resource for ‘one-stop shopping.’ Hopefully it will give sailors most of the information they need to be successful off the water as well as on the race course.”
 
The CleverPig.org website brings together a wide range of resources and tools for everything from fundraising to coaching. Sailors will be able to create their own campaign web page, calendar, resume and budget. They can apply for grants, search for coaches and get local knowledge about regatta venues. They’ll find resources on one-design classes and regattas, sample materials from previous campaigns, plus extensive lists of campaign FAQs and links.
 
“CleverPig.org is a unique and powerful resource,” said David Dellenbaugh, a founding member of the Southport Sailing Foundation. “There is nothing like it on the web, so we hope this will help American sailors become even more competitive internationally.”

The new site is endorsed by the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics and acclaimed by top American sailors. “I just checked out CleverPig.org and I think it is fantastic,” said Anna Tunnicliffe, who recently won Olympic gold in the Laser Radial. “It’s what every campaigner could want all in one site.” Finn silver medalist Zach Railey adds, “CleverPig.org is exactly what the aspiring sailor needs to reach the next level and their own individual goals.”

The tools and resources on CleverPig.org are provided free for any sailor through the support of the Southport Sailing Foundation.