A conversation between Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) President Greg Wilkinson and US Sailing Olympic Development Director Rosie Chapman
In the United States, college sailing teams and the Olympic Development Program (ODP) have a long history of pursuing the same group of athletes: those just out of high school and hungry for success in academics, sport, and for some, an Olympic podium. With changes in US Olympic Sailing leadership over the years, the relationship between the two programs has drifted in and out of cooperation at the expense of young athletes forced to choose between the two. However, in a transformative shift, US Sailing’s newest ODP Director Rosie Chapman aims to bolster cooperation between college sailing and the ODP. Chapman recognizes the strengths of the collegiate space and the potential for a high-performance training environment that can support athlete success in both arenas simultaneously.
US Sailing sat down with Chapman and ICSA President Greg Wilkinson to get the lowdown on first impressions, efforts that have already taken place to adjust programming with student athletes in mind, and their outlook on the future and the opportunities that lie ahead for college sailing, Olympic sailing, and American sailing as a whole.
US Sailing: Rosie, you’re recently new to your Olympic Development role but also new to the American college sailing scene as a whole. It’s an environment unlike any other scholastic sailing circuit in the world… what are your thoughts now that you’ve dipped your toe into the world of ICSA?
Rosie: “Great Question! My first ‘real’ experience with college sailing was this May up in Boston. I’d heard the Charles River was an iconic venue for college sailing, and it certainly delivered the extremes along with some tricky sailing! I was immediately impressed with the level of intensity and skill I witnessed. It’s an understatement to use the word ‘talent’ when looking at the groups of students on the docks at the MIT venue. I was surrounded by Youth Worlds medalists I’d coached over the last four years and saw so many familiar faces with incredible accolades. The realization hit me that these sailors are racing against each other not every few months like the Olympic class racing circuit but every few days! My other initial takeaway was just how fast paced and intense the environment is. I could see a great sense of camaraderie; the scene was electric.
Then this past weekend I had the opportunity to support race committee at the Singlehanded National Championship and get a front row seat to all the action in St. Petersburg. Just looking at the athlete lineup ahead of time told me it was shaping up to be a good battle and they delivered exactly that.
The athletes were exposed to multiple scenarios in quick succession, and with tighter courses they’re creating an environment where they race back-to-back. An athlete came up to me on the water between races and summed it up well, saying ‘college sailing is helping my mental game- with so many races I haven’t got time to dwell on what happened. I have to reset.’ They then went on to win the next race. I was impressed with what I saw, and it was a great weekend to see the athletes and talk to the coaches. Regular check-ins make for a positive connection and I’m always grateful for these chances to overlap and continue the relationships.”
US Sailing: And on the other side, Greg, you’ve had interactions with the Olympic space over your years as a coach for Boston College, most recently with alum Erika Reineke in Marseille, and now as President of ICSA. What has your experience been like with athletes who pursue both college sailing and ODP in the past, seeing as both programs are attractive to the same age bracket?
Greg: “I can’t quite believe this myself, but this was the seventh quad – dating back to the ’00 Trials in San Francisco – that I’ve coached Olympic campaigners. My experience with athletes who have been pursuing Olympic and college sailing goals at the same time has been quite varied. At times, there has been strong collaboration between US Olympic Sailing and college sailing; at other times there’s been friction and even competition for the athletes’ time and attention. I’m very glad to have taken over as President of college sailing at a time when we are making very clear strides towards what will hopefully be stronger-than-ever collaboration between US Olympic Sailing and college sailing.”
US Sailing: Rosie, you’ve personally visited now four schools that Greg has recommended so you can see their facilities, observe practices, etc. and understand what life is like for a student athlete. While there are more visits to come, what are your first impressions from leg one of your “tour?”
Rosie: “I took the role at US Sailing in May as the Olympic Development Director and one of the first things on my list was to explore collaboration with college sailing. I knew this wasn’t going to be a simple path; it was something I wanted to work to understand. ‘How can we at US Sailing help athletes in their Olympic journey alongside their college coaches?’ First, I needed to experience the college sailing world. So on a sunny day in May, I went down to the Charles to visit the 2024 College Sailing National Championship. I wanted to see what it was all about and meet people organically.
Next, I wanted to begin conversations with Greg about how college sailing and US Sailing can work together and collaborate. Greg suggested I visit colleges to see athletes in their daily training environment, meet their sailing coaches, their strength and conditioning coaches, see their campus, attend a practice, and get a real feel for life as a student athlete. It was always going to be impossible for me to see every college in one go, so the decision was for me to start with four schools this fall. We prioritized the colleges that had the greatest number of current sailors who were engaged with the ODP program, and I’m really looking forward to seeing many more schools.
My experience so far has been super positive. Every school has its unique set-up, but everyone’s got coaches willing to work with the ODP program and offer useful insight and collaboration. This isn’t a situation of me going in and telling them what to do- on the contrary, I am learning more and more each visit on how we can all improve. It has also been a great opportunity for me to either re-engage with sailors who have dropped off the Youth pathway or meet sailors who didn’t know Olympic sailing was even an option. These athletes who are in college and a part of the ODP program have an opportunity to come out of college sailing in a strong place to enter their Olympic campaign if we support them in the right ways.”
US Sailing: Greg, what are some components of student athlete life and college sailing programs that you think are beneficial to the Olympic Development movement?
Greg: “For many, college sailing offers access to professional resources that most Olympic sailing programs aspire to have. As Rosie saw during her visits, a ‘day in the life’ of many college sailors has them working with professional strength and conditioning coaches, career and academic support professionals, athletic trainers, sports psychologists, and professional sailing coaches. These resources are in place for four years in a residential setting, and they’re all available for the Olympic Development movement to tap into.
Not only does Rosie seem keen on leaning on collegiate resources, but she also has plans to bring Olympic resources to the college sailing athletic experience. With tighter coordination efforts between the professionals at colleges and universities and the professionals that the Olympic program uses, college sailors can benefit from very high level, sport-specific expertise that would otherwise be unavailable to their coaches.”
US Sailing: On the flip side, Rosie, what features of the ODP space do you think help enrich the college sailing athlete experience?
Rosie: “These athletes are competing against each other in the college space, but when they come to our ODP camps, they are a part of the same ODP team which is a unique and cool environment to have for four years in tandem with their collegiate competition circuit. While at ODP camps, athletes are learning from class-specific coaches to really hone in on the technical details of their class, and at college they spend hours in small fleets making countless tactical decisions every weekend. The two can complement each other very well. My job is to make sure that when the athletes enter the ODP environment they are getting the most ‘bang for their buck’ and doing the right things in their Olympic class boats. And while we are looking forward to utilizing some of the collegiate resources, we’re also excited to share some resources and systems we’ve developed in return.”
US Sailing: The strong majority of US Sailing Team and Olympic athletes are either currently in college or are college alumnae. For both Greg and Rosie, what advice do you have for youth sailors who are interested in high level sailing in their post-youth years?
Rosie: “From the small amount of time I’ve spent interacting with college coaches, I would say transparency and communication; tell both myself and your college coach what your goals are. Plan ahead and communicate well. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t easy, and I can see that the demands across academics, college sailing and Olympic sailing are a lot! But it is possible and it’s an exciting journey. I would also add: be realistic- you can’t do it all, and you have to be aware that at times it’s a lot of sacrifice, but it’s worth it in the long run. Finally, there have been several athletes who opt to take a year or two off from school in an Olympic cycle. If this is communicated well in advance, this can work for everyone.”
Greg: “At this summer’s Olympics, college sailors competed in seven of ten classes, qualified for the medal races in five of those seven classes and ultimately won two Olympic medals!* College sailing is NOT a barrier to Olympic success! Be sure to share your Olympic aspirations with college coaches and plan in advance – ask your coaches for help with this. Academics will be far and away your largest and least flexible commitment while in college, and while college sailing generally does not conflict with academics, any international travel and some domestic international-level regattas will conflict – so plan ahead!”
US Sailing: For both of you again, what kind of character traits do you see amongst your top athletes and what are the traits you look for when building your teams?
Rosie: “Traits I see from successful athletes are commitment, determination, good communication, and dedication to what you are trying to do. The ones that make it through are staying up late to get their school work done and then are first in the gym in the morning. It’s hard but doable and very rewarding.”
Greg: “College sailing requires a true team effort. With the exception of our fall individual singlehanded championships, our largest events require not only multiple people, but multiple boats to win – the best sailors to come through my program have made the people around them better because they understand that they cannot win on their own.”
US Sailing: Rosie, what adjustments have you made in designing the new Olympic Development Program? How are you approaching this chapter of building the pipeline… what’s new?
Rosie: “The reality is that college sailing and the Olympic Development Program both play a massive role in an athlete’s journey, and my number one goal is to make it possible for athletes to be as successful as they can be at both. Greg has been instrumental in helping me understand college sailing and working with me. As an example, at the start of this fall I put the ODP schedule in front of several coaches to get input with the goal of designing a calendar that wouldn’t force athletes to make the hard choice between camps and conflicting key college events they should be at with their team. I don’t want athletes to be torn and feel like they are failing. The camps this fall and winter, of course, don’t line up perfectly with every individual and there will always be some conflicts, but this is a positive start and with more communication, we can all work together. I am already seeing the pool of athletes in the ODP and college space grow and I am getting a sense of excitement for both programs rather than an unease.”
Greg: “From the college sailing perspective, what’s new in Rosie’s approach is intentional collaboration and curiosity. Before scheduling ODP activity this fall, Rosie did a great deal of research with myself and others first on academic schedules (the least flexible conflict in a college sailor’s busy schedule) and then on the collegiate sailing schedule. And the curiosity has come in the form of looking at what college sailing might have – largely resources – that ODP can tap into to help support the athletes.”
US Sailing: And looking ahead, Rosie, what are some of the special opportunities of this quad leading to Los Angeles 2028 that’s unique from other Olympics?
Rosie: “A home Games doesn’t come around very often. For this current pool of athletes, this is a massive opportunity! We have the ability to look down the road and work with athletes individually to see how they can maximize their time at college and also build up to an Olympic campaign. I’ve already had lots of athletes approach me wanting to understand if and when they should take a gap year and we’re starting some important conversations between the athlete, their college coach, and myself. As a nation, there is so much talent in the college program and I am excited to see how many current ODP athletes will make it to the start line of LA28.”
US Sailing: For both of you, what excites you about the future of College Sailing, ODP, the intersection of the two, and where American sailing is heading in general?
Greg: “I’m excited to be entering into what seems like a new era of collaboration between college sailing and the US Olympic program. Despite the fact that Rosie and I have only been working on this together for a few months, the collaboration has exceeded my expectations and is already directly benefiting college sailors and Olympic hopefuls!”
Rosie: “Opportunity, opportunity, opportunity! These athletes have four years with some of the best support around them: strength and conditioning, nutrition, psychology, a team environment, etc. Athletes can leave their college experience as better all-around athletes physically, mentally and tactically. My goal is for us to work towards a seamless transition into Olympic campaigning.”
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*USA Bronze for Ian Barrows (Yale University) and Hans Henken (Stanford University) in the 49er, Peru Bronze for Stefano Peschiera (College of Charleston) in the ILCA 7
MEDIA CONTACT:
Allison Chenard, US Sailing Team Media & Communications Coordinator
Email: allisonchenard@ussailing.org
For more information about the US Sailing Team, visit: https://www.ussailing.org/olympics/teams
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About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), certified by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of sailing in the United States, is dedicated to leading, advancing, supporting, and ensuring integrity in sailing at every level. Founded in 1897, US Sailing, now serving over 35,000 members as well as over 1,500 yacht clubs and sailing centers, offers training and certifications for sailors, instructors, and race officials, oversees national championships, manages offshore ratings, conducts regional and national events, and spearheads initiatives to increase accessibility. US Sailing also leads the training and development of the US Sailing Team for the Olympic Games and high-performance international competitions, providing comprehensive financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing, and communications support, as well as managing the Team USA athlete selection procedures for the Olympic Games. More at www.ussailing.org.
About College Sailing
The Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. There are six conferences that schedule and administer regattas within their established geographic regions.