FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Marlieke de Lange Eaton
401-683-0800

Familiar Names on the Starting Line of
Upcoming U.S. Championship of Champions

Portsmouth, R.I. (October 16, 2007) - When racing starts at the U.S. Championship of Champions this Thursday, October 18 at Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego, Calif., the starting line will be packed with familiar names from across the country's one-design sailing community. This should be no surprise, the event - which wraps up on Saturday, October 20 - is known as one of the toughest one-design competitions since it brings together the country's top 19 one-design sailors of all ages who have won major events in their respective one-design classes in the last year. The Championship, sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Dry Creek Vineyard, is held in a different one-design boat every year in a different part of the country.

This year's event is sailed in Snipes, which could make Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.), the 2003 US SAILING Rolex Yachtsman of the Year who has countless Snipe titles to his name, the odds-on favorite. But a win by Diaz is by no means guaranteed because he will be joined on the starting line by sailors such as 19-year-old Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, Pa.) who won the Laser Radial Youth World Championship and the U.S. Singlehanded Championship this year, 70-year-old seasoned Sunfish sailor Dick Tillman (Syracuse, Ind.) who is the oldest of fleet, US Sailing Team member and Olympic hopeful Carrie Howe (Grosse Point, Mich.) representing the Formula 18 class at this event, and several others. And perhaps the upset could come from local favorite Jake La Dow (San Diego, Calif.), who at age 14 is the youngest of the fleet and qualified after winning the Naples Sabot Junior National Championship last year.

For a complete list of sailors who are competing in the U.S. Championship of Champions, as well as daily reports and photos as the event is happening, visit the event website at www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/CofC.  

Inaugurated in 1976, the U.S. Championship of Champions is limited to 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.

The U.S. Championship of Champions is part of US SAILING’s National Adult Championships series, all of which are sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc. For more information about US SAILING’s National Championships, visit www.ussailing.org/championships or contact US SAILING’s Championships Director Liz Walker at championships@ussailing.org.  

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

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