2024 David Storrs Grant Recipients Announced

After receiving over a dozen applications, US Sailing and the Match Racing Committee are excited to announce the recipients for the 2024 David Storrs Grant program. This year’s grants were given to four skippers, two female and two male: Sydney Monahan, Caroline Bayless, Axel Stordahl, and Josh Dochoda. Each team is awarded $2,500 and will be mentored by world-class match racers Janel Zarkowsky Martin and Peter Holz.

The David Storrs Grant, named after USMRC winner and great supporter of US Match Racing, David Storrs, is designed to help match race teams ages 19-29 to pay for expenses such as entry fees, travel expenses, and lodging for one full calendar year. Grantees are also given access to a match racing mentor to help guide them in their competition campaigns.

Female recipients may request an invitation, currently open to all female sailors, to the US Women’s Match Racing Championship in August. Recipients of the grant also have the opportunity to compete in the US Match Racing Qualifiers for the US Match Racing Championship, scattered throughout the country before the US Match Racing Championship in October. Match Racing continues to be an accessible way to both get new people into sailing and keep current sailors on the water. It has quickly become one of the fastest growing disciplines in sailing!

Hear from the teams selected on what this grant means to them: 

Sydney Monahan

“I am incredibly thrilled and grateful to have been chosen as a recipient of this grant. I participated in my first Match Race at Oakcliff in 2019 and have been in love with it ever since. This grant will enable me to continue sailing competitively after graduating from college and pursue my Match Racing dreams. I am grateful not only for the financial support but also for the mentorship opportunities that come with working with Janel Zarkowsky.”

Caroline Bayless

“As a recent graduate of college sailing, I am very grateful to receive the David Storrs Match Racing Grant and have the ability to continue sailing competitively in a new setting. I am excited to get into the discipline of match racing and expand upon my previous experience in team racing. We’re ready to attack the match racing scene. Thank you to US Sailing for this great opportunity and thank you to my previous coaches John Mollicone and Stu McNay for supporting me through this process. I can’t wait to get started. See everyone on the water!”

Axel Stordahl

“I am incredibly excited and deeply honored to be one of the recipients for this year’s
David Storrs Match Race Grant. This generous grant will not only allow my team and I to build on the foundation of hard work and dedication we established during our time in college sailing, but also provide us with the resources to further our skills and compete at a higher level in match racing. Match racing has been a transformative experience for us, especially during our time at the College of Charleston. The intense competition and  the welcoming community of sailors had us hooked from the start. For anyone transitioning from college sailing and looking for a feasible way to race at the top level, I highly recommend match racing. We are excited to leverage this grant to reach new heights in match racing, and I personally look forward to the growth and learning this will bring.”

Josh Dochoda

“Our match race team made up of Boston University alumni are very excited to be awarded the David Storrs Match Racing grant for the 2024 season. We look forward to broadening our match racing experience sailing against some great competition around the country. The grant offers mentorship from experienced match racers so we’re keen on learning as much as possible to accelerate our season.”

 

Interested in supporting the future of match racing in the United States? Consider donating to the David Storrs Match Racing Fund: https://www.ussailing.org/about/giving/david-storrs-match-racing-fund/