U.S. Match Racing Championship Area J Elimination/
UBS Challenge LA Qualifier
June 15-16, 2002

 Final Results       Final Report     Day 1 Results      Day 1 Report       Art of Sailing

TWO-TIME COLLEGE SAILOR OF THE YEAR BRAD RODI LEADS TEAM TO VICTORY AT THE LOS ANGELES REGIONAL QUALIFIER OF UBS CHALLENGE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP

SAN PEDRO, June 16, 2002 - Two-time college sailor of the year Brad Rodi led the team from San Diego Yacht Club to a first place finish in the closely contested UBS Challenge Regional Qualifier at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, San Pedro.  A rare three-way tie at the conclusion of the round robin series called for a tie-breaking decision that left Team Rodi and Team Schopp of Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club to compete in a final best-of-three knockout series, which Team Rodi won 2-0. 

Brad Rodi, who won College Sailor of the year twice (1992, 1993) and was a four-time All-American sailor (1990-1993) while at the U.S. Naval Academy, commented on the level of competition involved in this weekend's race. "This area is noted for its top-quality sailors, so it's tough to qualify for a race like the UBS Challenge," said Winning Skipper Rodi.  "We are excited to have won this competition and advance our team to Newport later this summer, where we will represent southern California."

By winning the Los Angeles regatta, one of six regional qualifying races in the UBS Challenge national sailing event, Skipper Rodi advances to the UBS Challenge U.S. Championships, held in Newport, Rhode Island on July 27 - 29.  The top three finishers from that event will go on to compete in the UBS Challenge Finals, July 31 - August 4, also in Newport.  The finals pit the nation's top amateur sailors against America's Cup teams for a purse of $100,000, one of the largest in sailing.

Team Schopp and Team Gaudio placed second and third in today's Regional Qualifier.

"Racing today was extremely tight," said Regatta Chair Reese Lane.   "We've just seen some of the best match racing in Southern California - in terms of the caliber of teams involved and today's near-perfect sailing conditions of 12-15 knots." 

"Conditions were lighter today and that put more of a premium on strategy and tactics, as opposed to the weather-related skills required yesterday," said Kirk Brown, race umpire and Chairman of the US SAILING Prince of Wales National Match Race Championship.  "Team Rodi possessed the right combination of skills and strategy needed to win under these varied conditions."

The next UBS Challenge Regional Qualifier is in the New York area, June 20-22, at the Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, Connecticut.

UNDEFEATED TEAM GAUDIO FROM BAHIA CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB LEADS AFTER
OPENING DAY OF UBS CHALLENGE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP REGIONAL QUALIFIER

Los Angeles, June 15, 2002 - After the first day of competition, Team Gaudio leads the UBS Challenge Regional Qualifier at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, San Pedro.  The team is skippered by 2001 CAL-20 North American champion Mark Gaudio, whose team is representing the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club.

Team Gaudio, undefeated after the first day of racing (4-0), will face other top local sailors in the final day of racing on Sunday (June 16, 2002).  The UBS Challenge Los Angeles Qualifier is one of six regional regattas in the UBS Challenge national sailing event.  The winner of the Los Angeles regatta will advance to the UBS Challenge U.S. Championships held in Newport, Rhode Island, July 27 - 29.  Top three finishers from that race will go on to compete against America's Cup teams in the UBS Challenge Finals, July 31 - August 4, also in Newport.  The teams will race for a purse of $100,000, one of sailing's largest.

Gaudio said, "We had the right combination today - my experience with CAL-20s and our team's experience with match racing - that allowed us to focus on the basics and come out ahead.   The weather conditions earlier in the day made for evenly matched racing, but the bigger breezes towards the end of the day really separated the pack."

Gary Jobson, winning America's Cup tactician and race commentator, said, "The conditions at San Pedro today were a real test of seamanship - there was a lot of wind for the small CAL-20s and the teams were sailing inside the breakwater.  The leading team succeeded because they found the right combination of boat speed and tactics."

The weather conditions at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club today were sunny (79 degrees) with winds from the west-northwest at around 20 m.p.h.  

ART OF SAILING

One-of-a-kind Art Competition Kicks off the UBS Challenge Sailing Championship Regional Races

LOS ANGELES, June 13, 2002 - UBS announced today that a design by Ronald Mejia of John Marshall High School has been selected to represent Los Angeles in the UBS Challenge Sailing Championship national "Art of Sailing" contest.

Ronald Mejia's design is one of seven conceived and painted on 12-foot canvas sails by students at John Marshall High School and Loyola Marymount University and are currently on display at the Third Street Promenade. The exhibit, part of the UBS Challenge Art of Sailing Design Contest, was judged by Patrice Humbel, Senior Vice President and Resident Manager of UBS PaineWebber, Beverly Hills; Sandy Jacobson of CityTV; Elena Allen, Chairperson, Santa Monica Arts Commission; Lois Lambert, Director of the Gallery of Functional Art and Reese Lane, Racing Chairman, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club.

As the winner of Los Angeles' Art of Sailing Design Contest, Ronald Mejia receives $2000, and his sail will go on to represent Los Angeles at the UBS Challenge Sailing Championship Finals in Newport, RI.

Ronald Mejia's winning design uses Hollywood to represent the spirit of Los Angeles.  From the artist's point of view, the unique side by side image of the buildings downtown and the many beaches make the city a perfect setting for the world of Hollywood.

Other finalists in the Art of Sailing Design Contest include Yuna Hyong, Gloria Ing, and Brittany Lee from John Marshall High School; Kate Micucci, Deidra Perino, and Victoria Ash from Loyola Marymount University.

The UBS Challenge "Art of Sailing" Design Contest is a national program involving premier art schools in select cities across the country.  The contest is linked to the UBS Challenge, which begins June 15 at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in San Pedro, and includes six regional qualifying races for amateur sailors and culminates in Newport, RI at the UBS Challenge Finals, featuring America's Cup sailors, July 31 - August 4. 

UBS AG is a leading global financial services firm with 71,000 employees worldwide, providing a wide range of services to a client base that includes affluent individuals, corporations, institutions and governments.  Headquartered in Switzerland, the bank has significant operations in all of the world's major financial centers and comprises four business groups; UBS Warburg, UBS PaineWebber, UBS Switzerland, and UBS Global Asset Management.