COUNTRY’S TOP YOUTH SAILORS TO COMPETE IN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN GROSSE POINTE, MICHIGAN

Grosse Pointe, Mich. (June 19, 2006) – The country’s 150 top youth sailors will arrive at Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe, Mich., this week to compete in the nation’s premier youth sailing regatta, the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship. The regatta will officially kick off on Friday, June 23 with a three-day advanced racing clinic taught by some of the country’s best coaches. Racing for the National Championship title will be take place from Monday, June 26 through Wednesday, June 28. The competition will be raced in four different classes of boats: the singlehanded Laser and Laser Radial as well as the doublehanded Club 420 and 29er. The event is sponsored nationally by Vanguard Sailboats and Nautica.

Many youth sailors have been preparing for months to compete in the Championship, organized nationally by US SAILING and locally by the host club. A record of over 310 sailors applied for the total 150 spots available on the starting line. As the sailors arrive in Grosse Pointe, a few questions are on everyone’s minds: who in the Laser fleet will qualify for the coveted spot on the US Youth World Team and travel to next month’s Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Weymouth, England? And, with all of last year’s winners are returning, will they be able to win again, even though some of them have switched boats or crew?

For last year’s champions, getting a repeat win will not be easy. In the Laser class, Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI) will get a chance to defend his title, but it won’t be easy, as one of his toughest competitors will be Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Pa.), who won the Laser Radial class last year and has made the switch to the Laser. In the Club 420, last year’s winning skipper Emily Dellenbaugh (Easton, Conn.) is sailing with Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.). Meanwhile, Leigh Hammel (Warren, Vt.), who won with Emily Dellenbaugh last year, will crew for Emily’s older sister, Rebecca Dellenbaugh ((Easton, Conn.).

The boats that are being used in the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship are selected based on the classes used in the Olympic Games. The Laser and Laser Radial are Olympic classes, while the Club 420 and 29er are smaller versions of the 470 and 49er respectively used in the Olympic Games. This is the first time in the history of the Championship that competitors will be sailing in the 29er.

For more information on the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship, including a complete competitors’ list, please visit www.ussailing.org/youthchamp. The U.S. Youth Sailing Championship is part of US SAILING’s Youth and Junior Championship series. For more information on these National Championships, please visit www.ussailing.org/championships or e-mail championships@ussailing.org.

Several awards will be presented at the conclusion of the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship. The winner of the Laser class will receive the Robert L. Johnstone Trophy, which recognizes the pioneering in community sailing and popularizing of one-design sailing for which Bob Johnstone is known. Johnstone was the creator of the Youth Championship and was the first committee chairman. The winner of the Club 420 class will be awarded the Manton D. Scott Memorial Trophy, named in honor of an aspiring Olympic sailor whose life was cut short prematurely -- he was electrocuted in 1973 when the mast of his boat made contact with an overhead power line. The David M. Perry Sportsmanship Trophy was dedicated in 1989 and is awarded to the sailors who demonstrate good sportsmanship behavior. The winners of this trophy are selected based on a vote by their fellow competitors.

Vanguard Sailboats, manufacturer of most boats used in the U.S. Youth Championship, is sponsoring the event as part of its ongoing commitment to youth sailing. Nautica, which is also the Official Apparel Supplier to the US Sailing Team, is returning for a second year as an Official Sponsor of the Championship, affirming its support of youth 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 Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

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