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3.29.07 Members of the 2007 US Sailing Team (USST) and US Disabled Sailing Team (USDST) are criss-crossing the globe this year, as they train and compete against the world's top sailors in the 14 Olympic and Paralympic classes. This is a crucial year in the four-year cycle gearing up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as sailors vie for the top spots in their respective classes. In 2007, U.S. sailors are ultimately competing toward one common goal: the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Sailing and the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials - Sailing, which will be held October 3-14, 2007 in Southern California and Newport, R.I., with the exception of the Yngling class, which has two separate events. The athletes who win the Trials in each class will be named to the U.S. Olympic Team and U.S. Paralympic Team, and will go on to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Regattas, to be held August 9-21, 2008, and September 6-17, 2008, respectively in Qingdao, China. US SAILING will send out a weekly dispatch, which will provide a taste of the competition, conditions and color marking their Olympic and Paralympic journeys. It will include previews of major events, results, sailor profiles and behind-the-scene diaries. This week's Spotlight includes a preview of the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, color from a few of the sailors and a calendar of upcoming events in 2007.
About the Teams The 2007 USDST also consists of the top three ranked sailors in each of the three classes chosen for the 2008 Paralympic Games: the 2.4mR, the Sonar, and SKUD-18. For a complete list of the 2007 USDST and their hometowns, please visit: www.ussailing.org/olympics/paralympic/2007/team.asp Newly launched in 2007, the Elite Youth Development Team represents the country's top youth sailors in the Laser and Laser Radial. To help the athletes gain more sailing experience at the highest levels, members of the Team will travel to major international regattas worldwide and be supported by elite-level coaches. To meet the members of the 2007 UYDT and read their bios, please visit: www.ussailing.org/olympics/EYDT/2007/team.asp
Princess Sofia Trophy
Regatta in Palma de Mallorca, Spain Palma is the capital of Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. For more information and results from the Princess Sofia Trophy, visit the event website at www.trofeoprincesasofia.org.
The following USST members will compete in Palma: 470 Women (71 entries): Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.)/Sarah Mergenthaler (Harvey Cedars, N.J.); Erin Maxwell (Stonington, Conn.)/Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.); Molly Carapiet (Belvedere, Calif.) /Molly O'Bryan (San Diego, Calif.) 49er (85 entries): Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.)/Chris Rast (Wake Forest, N.C.); Dalton Bergan (Seattle, Wash.)/Zack Maxam (Coronado, Calif.) Finn (61 entries): Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.); Geoffrey Ewenson (Annapolis, Md.) Laser (158 entries): Brad Funk (Clearwater, Fla.); Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) Radial (101 entries): Anna Tunnicliffe (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) RS:X Men (117 entries): Bob Willis (Chicago, Ill.) RS:X Women (73 entries): Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.) Star (47 entries): no USST members are competing Tornado (63 entries): John Lovell (New Orleans, La.)/Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, TX); Don Thinschmidt (Holland, Mich.)/Drew Wierda (Miami, Fla.) Yngling (36 entries): Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.)/Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.)/Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.)
Busy Sailing Season
Abroad This trip to Europe is the first of three trips I'm making this year. The second trip will include a week's training in Cascais, which is the site for our Laser Radial Worlds. I'll follow that with the Holland Regatta in Mendemblik, Holland. Immediately after that I fly to Annapolis, MD for a match race regatta that I am sailing with Sally Barkow, Debbie Capozzi and Carrie Howe. My third trip to Europe will be for the World Championships which are in Cascais, Portugal starting June 28. After I return from Worlds, I will have a little break before I head over to China for three weeks to represent the US in the Laser Radial Class at the Pre-Olympic Regatta in Qingdao. I qualified for this event by winning the US team rankings this year. www.annatunnicliffe.com/ Geoff Ewenson, the number two Finn sailor on the USST, will also spend five weeks in Europe, competing in Palma and then Hyeres. He wrote: My goals are simple. I am there to work on my downwind sailing speed and my starting technique. I am not yet focused on results oriented goals but rather still in the process of putting together all the pieces to the puzzle. On this first trip there will be two other Americans. While it would be nice to set the tone early and be the top American, it is not critical and not yet the goal. That goal is still seven months away. www.ewensonsailing.org Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler, the USST's top ranked 470 Women's team, are also in Palma, after competing in Japan and Portugal over the last month. They wrote: The 2007 international circuit officially kicked off with our trip over many seas during the past 4 weeks. We departed the USA on February 27 for Sajima, Japan for the Abeam Cup Women's 470 Invitational. Top teams from 8 countries were invited to race with the very strong Japanese Women's National Team. We placed sixth overall and third amongst foreign competitors. From Japan, we flew straight to Cascais, Portugal for a training session followed by the Cascais International Regatta. This was a great chance to get the lay-of-the-land, as the 2007 World Championships are this July at the same venue. We placed second in the women's fleet at 10th overall in the combined men's/women's fleet. To read more details about these two events, please read their update at: www.teamgosail.org/regatta2.html#race7
2007 Disabled/Open Midwinter Regatta Results
In
May, the USDST SKUD-18 sailors will hold a training camp in
2007 Upcoming Events
March 30 - April 6: Tornado European Championship, Palma de Mallorca, Spain April 19-27: Semaine Olympique Francaise de Voile, Hy?es, France www.ffvoile.net/ffv2006/ May 23-27: Holland Regatta, Medemblik, The Netherlands www.hollandregatta.org/2007/ June 1-10 : 470 European Championship, Thessaloniki, Greece June 1-9: Finn European Championship, Balatonfoldvar, Hungary June 2-9: Laser European Championship and Laser Youth European Championship , Hyeres, France June 5-15: RS:X European Championship, Limassol, Cyprus June 14-17: Laser North American Championship, Hyannis, MA, USA June 16-30:
Kiel Week, Kiel, Germany June 28-July 13: ISAF Combined Olympic Class World Championship in Cascais, Portugal (first Olympic Qualifier for all classes) www.cascaisworlds2007.com/ Sponsors of the 2007 US Sailing Teams are: Rolex Watch U.S.A., Vanguard Sailboats, Nautica, Gill, Sperry Top-Sider, RIBCRAFT, Harken, New England Ropes, Extrasport, Nikon and Team McLube.
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