Portsmouth, R.I. (March 15, 2007) – US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has chosen six talented sailors to the US Elite Youth Development Sailing Team, which was created this year. These young athletes – all under 21 years old - have been identified as future Olympian prospects in the Laser and Laser Radial classes. This year, three Laser Full Rig sailors and three Laser Radial sailors have been selected from a pool of over 60 candidates.

The members of the 2007 US Elite Youth Development Sailing Team are: Emily Billing (Clearwater, Fla.), Anne Haeger (Lake Forest, Ill.), Sarah Lihan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Luke Lawrence (Palm City, Fla.), Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Pa.) and Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.).

For pictures and bios of the US Elite Youth Development Sailing Team members, please visit the Team web site: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/EYDT/2007/team.asp

US SAILING created the US Elite Youth Development Sailing Team this year to provide a national coaching, educational, administrative and financial support structure for the country’s top youth sailors and future Olympic prospects in the Laser and Laser Radial. These athletes will travel to major international regattas with the guidance of elite-level coaches in order to gain more competitive sailing experience against the best in the world. In order to qualify for the Team, sailors must be younger than 21 years old.

"The Elite Youth Development Team identifies the best, young sailors in the USA and provides an opportunity for them to gain further experience in international-level sailing," said High Performance Director and Head Coach Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.). "We plan to share our hard-won lessons on competing abroad."

The US Elite Youth Development Sailing Team is managed by US SAILING, national governing body of the sport. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING's mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing 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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