COUNTRY’S TOP ONE-DESIGN SAILORS COMPETE AT
U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP OF CHAMPIONS

Portsmouth, RI (September 29, 2005) – Starting today, 20 of the country’s top one-design sailors are meeting on the race course off Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, Mich., to compete in US SAILING’s U.S. Championship of Champions. More than 30 different one-design classes applied to have their National or North American champion compete in the event but due to space limitations, only 20 were accepted to compete. Selected skippers range from a 13-year old Optimist sailor to a 68 year-old grand master. The one-design class champions are competing in Flying Scots for US SAILING’s Jack Brown Trophy. Sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyards and WeatherWave, the event takes place through Saturday, October 1.

Competitors who have been selected to race in the U.S. Championship of Champions as well as the events through which they qualified are:

• Andrew Daugherty (Little Rock, Ark.) - Y-Flyer National Champion
• Eduardo Cordero (Sayville, N.Y.) - Sunfish North American Champion
• Michael Ingham (Rochester, N.Y.) - Thistle National Champion
• Richard Tillman (Syracuse, N.Y.) - Prodigy Class Champion
• Rob Anderson (Moscow, ID) - San Juan 21 North American Champion
• Jerry Thompson (Long Beach, Calif.) - Master Sabot Champion
• Scott Savage (Columbus, OH) - Interlake National Champion
• Nathan Fast (Groton, Conn.) - Blue Jay National Champion
• James Bigham (Miami, Fla.) - Force Five North American Champion
• Mathew Wefer (Glen Head, N.Y.) - Optimist National Champion
• Ken Whitt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) - Tanzer 16 National Champion
• Gib Charles (Fort Collins, Colo.) - Mutineer 15 National Champion
• Barrett Sprout (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Coronado 15 North American Champion
• Barret Rhoads (Nashville, Ind.) - Highlander Class National Champion
• Peter Harper (Allen, TX) - Catalina 22 National Champion
• Kevin Anderson (Grand Rapids, Mich.) - National Butterfly Champion
• Mark Stang (Ocean Beach, N.Y.) - Narrasketuck Masters Champion
• Oscar Barney (Salt Lake City, UT) - Geary 18 International Champion
• Stuart Robertson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) - Lido 14 National Champion
• Colin Smith (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) - Optimist North American Champion

Inaugurated in 1976, the U.S. Championship of Champions is comprised of 20 class champions selected by US SAILING from nominations made by their class associations. Eligible are current national or North American one-design class champions who normally sail in the U.S. and are members of US SAILING and of a club, class or association affiliated with US SAILING.

For more information on the U.S. Championship of Champions, please visit www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/CofC.  

The U.S. Championship of Champions is part of US SAILING’s National Adult Championships series. For more information about US SAILING’s National Championships, visit www.ussailing.org/championships or contact US SAILING’s championships manager Liz Walker at championships@ussailing.org.  

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing and sailboat racing. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

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