CALIFORNIA YACHT CLUB WINS THIRD US SAILING ST. PETERSBURG YACHT CLUB TROPHY FOR EXCELLENCE IN RACE MANAGEMENT

	From left to right: Alex Benson, Calif. YC Commodore Bill Pedersen, Bill Stump, US SAILING President Janet Baxter, and Jim Tichenor

Phoenix, Ariz. (October 21, 2005) – US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has awarded its prestigious St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy for excellence in race management to California Yacht Club (in Marina Del Rey, Calif.). Since the award was first presented in 1967, California Yacht Club is the third club to be awarded this Trophy three times. (Long Beach Yacht Club in Long Beach, Calif. won the Trophy in 1969, 1980, and 1985; and Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Mass. won the Trophy in 1982, 1992, 2000.) California Yacht Club had previously won the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy in 1996 and 2002. The Trophy was presented to Bill Pedersen (Commodore), Alex Benson (Regatta Chair), and Bill Stump (Principal Race Officer) of California Yacht Club by US SAILING’s Race Management Committee Chair Jim Tichenor earlier this evening during an awards dinner at US SAILING’s Annual General Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. California Yacht Club was selected from a list of ten nominations for outstanding organization and execution of the Keane Star Class North American Championship last August.

The Keane Star Class North American Championship brought together 41 teams (82 sailors) from six different countries from August 16 to 21 at California Yacht Club. The nomination included ballots from 31 skippers who participated in the event. California Yacht Club received the highest rate possible for the award and received particularly high marks for most of the event’s aspects, including mark setting, safety considerations, course location, mark setting, starting and finish lines, and more.

Emblematic of excellence in race management, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy was awarded originally by St. Petersburg Yacht Club in the late 1960s to recognize the club that ran the best regatta. The trophy was retired for several years, until it was donated to US SAILING in 1977. The winner is selected on the basis of race management superiority and evaluation by participating skippers. To be eligible for the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy in 2006, events must be held between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006. Regatta organizers may get program information on US SAILING's web site. Entries must be postmarked no later than September 5, 2006.

For more information on US SAILING’s St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy, including a list of all nominations for this year’s presentation, please visit www.ussailing.org/racemgt/St_Pete_Trophy/index.htm.

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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