Best Junior Sailors in Nation Coming to California
To Compete in U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships

Portsmouth, R.I. (August 1, 2005) – After training and competing in regattas all summer long, the time has come for the country’s top 60 youth sailors in the U.S. to show off their sailing skills at the competitive US SAILING U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships. Both the U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship, sailed in Club 420s for the Bemis Trophy, and the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship, sailed in Lasers for the Smythe Trophy will be hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport Beach, Calif. The events take place August 9th and continuing through the 12th. Demonstrating its strong commitment to youth sailing, Vanguard Sailboats is providing brand-new boats for both events. In conjunction with the U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships, the U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship will be held in Corona Del Mar, Calif.

In order for these young sailors to compete in the National Championships they had to sail in local and regional regattas to qualify. Only 60 sailors are able to qualify, 20 competitors for the Singlehanded Championship (20 boats); and 40 competitors for the Doublehanded Championship (20 boats). The young sailors come from all over the U.S. including Hawaii for the prestigious event.

Previous winners of these Championships have gone on to become world-famous sailors, competing in the Olympic Games, World Championships, the America’s Cup, and many more. Kevin Hall, currently on the US Sailing Team and a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team, won the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship in 1985 and 1986. Mikee Anderson-Mitterling won the U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship in 2000 and is now a member of the US Sailing Team in the Men’s 470.

For more information on the U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships including a list of competitors, results, daily updates, and pictures as they become available, please visit the events’ websites at www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/usjr/single for the Singlehanded Championship and www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/usjr/double for the Doublehanded Championship. These events are part of US SAILING’s National Championship series. For more information about the National Championship series, visit www.ussailing.org/championships or contact US SAILING’s championships manager Liz Walker at 401-683-0800.

About the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship
The winner of the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship will receive US SAILING’s Smythe Trophy. Spurred by a growing interest in building youth sailing for future Olympic Games, particularly in singlehanded boats, in 1975 the junior championships were expanded to include a national singlehanded championship with the donation of a trophy in honor of a long-time chairman of the Sears Trophy Committee, D. Verner Smythe. An active member of the Pequot Yacht Club at Southport, Conn., Smythe also served as Chairman of the Coordinating Committee of the North American Yacht Racing Union (now US SAILING) Championships.

About the U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship
The winning team of the U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship will be awarded US SAILING’s Bemis Trophy. The Bemis Trophy is named after F. Gregg Bemis who was best known for his work on the racing rules, which included a long tenure as chairman of the Appeals Committee. It was his leadership role in judging at junior and intercollegiate regattas that inspired a group of co-judges to donate in 1975 a trophy for doublehanded junior sailing. Similar to the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship for the Smythe Trophy, it is a ladder competition starting at the yacht club level.

About Vanguard Sailboats
Demonstrating a continuing commitment to youth sailing, the U.S. Junior Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championships are once again sponsored by Vanguard Sailboats, manufacturer of the Laser Radial and Club 420 boats used in the event. Vanguard Sailboats has been a dedicated sponsor of numerous U.S. National Championships for more than a decade. Vanguard supports and sponsors sailing at many levels, encouraging sailors in the U.S. to participate in and enjoy the sport, and ensuring great competition among sailors. Visit their website at www.teamvanguard.com.  

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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