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US SAILING ONE-DESIGN AWARDS
President
Dave
Rosekrans and Patty Lawrence presented the US
SAILING One-Design Awards at the Spring Meeting, March
15, 2003 in
Cincinnati,
OH.
Below are the presentation comments.
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John H. Gardiner, Jr.
One-Design Award
presented to
Doug Kessler, Atlanta GA |
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It gives me great pleasure to
present Doug Kessler with the John H. Gardiner, Jr. Trophy for
distinguished service and exceptional leadership in the promotion of
one-design sailing and class organization.
Doug has
spent the last three years the building Melges 24 fleets in the
Southeast. Participation is up and new fleets are growing. He has
served three years as Divisional Governor, added new events to the
series, and organized the National Class schedule.
Doug is
unable to be here tonight. He is sailing in the Melges 24 Nationals in
Pensacola where he was leading by 7 points going into today. Not only
might he be crowned national championship but he will receive the
National One-Design Service Award tonight in front of his peers. Two
national awards in one night --- that’s incredible!
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One-Design Leadership
Award
presented to
Jerlyn Bielh of San Diego, CA
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Jerelyn Bielh was presented with US Sailings
One Design Class Council Leadership Award for
recognition of individual initiative, enthusiasm, organizing ability and
leadership.
Jerelyn organized and ran
the 2002 US Youth Championship regatta at the San Diego Yacht Club. Her
outstanding dedication and hard work made the regatta
a resounding success and raised the bar for future events.
Coordinating efforts between
San Diego Yacht Club’s Junior Board, parents, members of the community,
and other yacht clubs, Jerelyn ensured the clinic and regattas ran
smoothly while earning the admiration of over 100 volunteers. On the
water race management was up to San Diego’s high standards.
Off the water Jerelyn made
sure that participants had a great time -- she introduced social events
like the bungee run, sumo wrestling and the Velcro wall. The scene in the
boat park every day after racing featured music and the snack tent.
Jerelyn was “mom” to over
150 sailors, two of them her own, and all the kids loved her.
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One-Design Club Award
presented to
Cedar Point Yacht Club of West Port, CT
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It gives me great pleasure to
present Cedar Point Yacht Club of Westport, CT with the One Design Club
Award in recognition of administrative excellence, fleet growth, creative
programming, regatta support, and member contribution.
Cedar Point
is an old fashioned one design racing club with a 114-year tradition of
providing top quality racing at regional, national, and international
racing.
They run a comprehensive program of club racing,
frostbite races, and a variety of open and invitational regattas. In 2002,
the 300 members club ran over 600 races as part of 54 different series.
Three
special programs:
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The
Connecticut Special Olympics Invitational introduces handicapped
athletes to the sport of sailing in an environment of friendly, spirited
competition. Now in its fourth year, the program is a resounding
success.
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Last year Cedar Point purchased a
fleet of 420s to support high school sailing and they offer a
well-managed, competitive program.
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The Cedar Point Challenge Cup
got its start when someone found a 100-year old trophy at a garage sale
and the club rededicated it as in interclub challenge. Six clubs compete
in three simultaneous events: fleet racing, team racing, and match
racing.
Participation in racing and race management is at the core
of Cedar Point’s culture. They set high standards for race administration
for all races. All club members receive race management training. At
major regattas they have 30 or more volunteers assisting on the water.
That’s 10% of their membership!
While they have no dining rooms or swimming pools, they can
manage over 100 boat one-design championship regatta. Cedar Point Yacht
Club takes its mission as a one-design racing club seriously.
Accepting the award
for Cedar Point Yacht Club is Rear Commodore Ed Rickard and Race & Regatta
Committee Chair Nelson Stephenson.
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One-Design
Creativity Award
presented to
Nat Siddall, Chelsea, MI
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It is a great honor to present Nathaniel Siddall with
the One-Design Creativity Award recognizing outstanding individual
creativity and contributions in this year’s most innovative one-design
event of national or international importance.
Nat has
accomplished two incredible feats. First, he helped to created a new
One-Design Class of windsurfers called Prodigy. And then, he incorporated
them into the new US Windsurfing National Tour. The Prodigy was always
available for charter.
Nat headed
up the 2002 US Windsurfing Tour -- contacting sponsors, calling event
organizers, setting dates, and advertising events in windsurfing
magazines. Nat’s impressive skills are largely responsible for how
smoothly the Tour ran.
As a result
of the 2002 success, the 2003 National Windsurfing Tour will be even
larger. |
One-Design
Class Council: serving the interests of one-design class sailors
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