FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Dana Paxton, Media Pro Int'l for Rolex, 401-849-0220
Marlieke Eaton, US SAILING, 401-683-0800
US SAILING’S
2007 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship
International fleet heads to Houston; Defending champion Barkow to compete
La Porte, Texas (November 5, 2007) – With the November 1 entry deadline
closed for US SAILING’s upcoming Rolex International Women’s Keelboat
Championship (Rolex IWKC), 41 international teams representing four
countries and 12 U.S. states have entered including two-time defending
champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) with her Team 7. The biennial
regatta, celebrating its 12th anniversary of offering women of all abilities
the opportunity for top-level competition, is scheduled for November 14-17
and hosted by the Houston Yacht Club in LaPorte, Texas. The 11-race series
features evening social activities and culminates with the traditional Rolex
gala and awards presentation where a Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the
winning boat’s skipper.
“Personally, I think it’s going to be great in Houston,” said Barkow, who
also is ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team in the Yngling. “We’ve scheduled it
and plan to make another go at the title of this regatta. It will be
interesting to see the other teams that have been training, and to see how
everyone has changed and improved since 2005.”
Although Barkow has spent little time in Houston – only the Pan Am Trials in
2003 and some coaching of Optimist sailors – she has confidence in her
team’s ability in the International J/22 keelboat. “We race in a lot of
other boats, so going back to a J/22 is comforting and it’s not too
complicated for us,” she said. “We like the boat and feel like we sail it
really well. We don’t know what to expect of the conditions there, but
whatever it is we’ll do our best.”
Adding to the list of high-profile names is Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation,
Fla.), who recently captured the Laser Radial berth to represent the U.S. at
the 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, China. Ranked for the past year as the
world’s #1 Laser Radial sailor, she graduated from Old Dominion University
where she was a multiple All-American. Tunnicliffe is joined by Liz Bower,
the assistant coach at ODU, from where she graduated as a multiple
All-American and women’s dinghy champion. Molly Vandemoer, trimmer and an
All-American while at the University of Hawaii, competed in the U.S. Olympic
Team Trials for Sailing in the 470 class where she and her skipper finished
third. They are joined by tactician Ali Sharp, assistant coach at the U.S.
Naval Academy. She graduated from St Mary’s College where she was a multiple
All-American.
One of the long-term goals of the Rolex IWKC is encouraging growth in
women’s sailing and among the local host’s region. The Houston area is
represented by 15 teams and one of them is Team Over the Edge, a mixture of
friends and family who enjoy the challenge of racing. “Our team is very
excited and proud to be members of the host club,” said skipper Anne Lee, an
owner of a landscape design company in Houston. Lee, who competed as crew in
the 2005 Rolex IWKC, has been sailing all her life, but has only recently
chosen to take the helm in serious racing and will fill the role of skipper.
She is joined by Diana Strickler, on bow, a very busy mother to young sons,
Reaves and Jacob; Terry Eukel, trimmer, who loves to race sailboats and is
mother to teenagers, Alex and Phillip; and Neave Nunes, on tactics, a
veteran racer and crew in several major regattas
Another local team is skippered by Dana Bethancourt, who will compete with
bow #1 for being the first registered team. She and her daughter Chelsea, a
high school senior, are joined by Patricia Escorihuela (Ensenada, Mexico)
and Sandra Baldridge who competed in the very first Rolex IWKC in 1987.
Bethancourt says that sailing with her teenage daughter, while challenging
at times, has led to a stronger mother-daughter relationship both on and off
the water. “This will be a first Rolex IWKC for Chelsea, Patricia and me,
but we have all done some national and international sailing events,” said
Bethancourt. “Our goal is to be the top local boat and hopefully to break
into the top 10. We are all strong and determined women, and will do the
best we can!”
When the regatta began in 1985, it charted new territory for women’s
keelboat racing in a sailing world that associated females mainly with
dinghy competition. The Rolex IWKC has become one of the best gauges of
talent in women’s sailing. The competition roster typically reads like a
who’s who of women’s sailing and includes US SAILING’s Rolex Yachtswomen of
the Year, Olympic medalists and America’s Cup veterans. Even more enjoyable,
however, are the women of all ages with varying levels of experience who
compete.
The youngest team is skippered by 18-year-old Shelby Aughtry (Edmond, Okla.)
and her Team Speedeaux. Aughtry and her teammate Allison Moorhead placed
first at Texas Youth Race Week 2007 in the 420 fleet. In 2006 they received
the Brooke E. Gonzalez Award at Newport, R.I., and they were awarded the
Sportsmanship Trophy at the U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship
for the Ida Lewis Trophy. They are joined by Letty Eby, who has been sailing
for over 20 years and has competed in many Area F Adams Cup events, J/24 and
J/22 Southwest Circuit regattas and the J/22 North Americans in 2005. This
will be the fourth Rolex IWKC she has participated in. Dolores Aughtry has
over 20 years of sailing experience, and has 18 years of experience on the
bow of the J/22; she has also competed in several J/22 Southwest Circuit
regattas as well as the J/22 North Americans in 2005.
Although skippering a boat at age 18 is certainly impressive in such a
competitive fleet, the record for youngest skipper is held by Anna
Tunnicliffe. In 1987, the then 14-year-old finished 13th among 36 teams
representing eight nations.
An international event always attracts sailors from various parts of the
world and this year’s regatta is no exception. Teams from Canada, South
Africa and the British Virgin Islands will compete.
For Sarah Bury (Toronto, CAN), representing the Royal Canadian Yacht Club,
the Rolex IWKC will be the first time her team has sailed together. “All of
us are training hard in hopes of representing Canada at the 2008 Olympics in
Beijing,” she said. “Myself, Martha Henderson and Katie Abbott are competing
in the Yngling class, and Jen Provan is a skipper in the 470 class. We are
excited to compete in the Rolex Women's event, and to try our hands at a
J/22!”
Dominique Provoyeur (Koelenhof, Stellenbosch, RSA) and her Team Isigungu are
her country’s representatives for the 2008 Olympic Games in the Yngling
Class. They first competed in the J/22 at the 2002 ISAF World Sailing Games
and since then their goal has been racing keelboats in the Olympics.
Provoyeru, who finished 11th out of 42 teams at the 2005 Rolex IWKC, sees
this year’s regatta as a cross-training platform for her Olympic campaign.
“As part of our training we have decided to participate in the 2007 Rolex
Women's Keelboat Championship and Team Isivungu is joined by a fellow South
African, Lara Dugas for this year’s event,” she said. “After the regatta, we
head to Miami to train and then compete in the (US SAILING’s) Rolex Miami
OCR.”
Additional information as well as a full list of competitors (including
hometowns and team bios) and the regatta schedule can be found on the
websites www.ussailing.org/riwkc and the Houston-specific
www.riwkc.com.
The Rolex IWKC title sponsor is Rolex Watch U.S.A. Other sponsorships to
date include: Platinum level - James & Camille Tichenor, Vince & Margaretta
Morvillo for Sea Lake Yacht Sales, and Societe Generale; Gold level - Kirby
Inland Marine, Port of Houston Authority, Channel and Lynchburg Shipyards;
Silver level - Sterling Bank, Houston Pilot's Association, Segue Websites,
Mount Gay Rum, Veolia Water and KO Sailing. The Rolex IWKC is a US SAILING
Championship and hosted by the Houston Yacht Club.
About the Rolex IWKC: Inaugurated in 1985 at the instigation of US
SAILING's Women’s Championship Committee, the Rolex IWKC quickly became the
premier women’s sailing event in the U.S. and worldwide. Held biennially,
the event provides women keelboat and offshore sailors high quality racing
and an opportunity to compete with top national and international women
sailors. The winning team will receive US SAILING’s Bengt Julin Trophy.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A. Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented
timepieces to America’s Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently
recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive
sailing, including elite athlete preparation, US SAILING championships,
disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women’s events.
The Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship joins other
prestigious Rolex-sponsored events including the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex
Fastnet Race, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, the Rolex Big Boat Series
and the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.
About the Houston Yacht Club: The Houston Yacht Club has one of the
most active racing programs in the United States, hosting regular events
from weekly club series to North American and World Championships. Members
are active in race management with two US SAILING certified national race
officers, five regional race officers and four judges calling HYC home. A
two-time winner of the US SAILING award for Excellence in Race Management,
the Houston Yacht Club continues its 100-year-old tradition of organizing
regattas and promoting Houston as a nationally recognized yacht racing and
recreational boating center. The oldest yacht club in Texas, HYC celebrated
its centennial in 1997.
About US SAILING: 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 U.S. 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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