U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship – 2016 Final Report
SEATTLE, Wash. (July 31, 2016) – On Sunday, the fleet of 28 Laser Radials competing at the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, hosted by Sail Sand Point, put the finishing touches on a fun and exciting three day regatta on Lake Washington. In the end, it was Washington native, Talia Toland (Kirkland, Wash.), who ran away with the title in her home state.
Toland enjoyed a three point lead over Kiera O’Reardon (Houston, Texas) through eight races entering Sunday’s final two races. With the Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy on the line and two 50-minute races to go, Toland won her third race of the Championship in Race 9 and gained two more points on O’Reardon, who placed third.
In the 10th and final race, Toland ensured O’Reardon did not catch her in the standings by finishing three places ahead of her (14th to 17th) to win the Leiter Trophy.
“This is my third year sailing at the Leiter Trophy and it’s great to finally put it all together in my home venue,” said Toland. “It was kind of cool that we had different wind direction every day of the regatta. I stayed in the pressure and stayed pointing towards the mark and kept a cool head in the shifty conditions, which helped a lot when you patience.
“I had a chance to work with all the coaches, which is really great. It’s cool to see how I’ve developed from year to year at this event.
“Thank you to US Sailing, Sail Sand Point, the Clagett family and everyone who helped host this regatta. It was a great venue with great coaches and a lot of fun,” added Toland.
Toland placed third at this Championship last year and sixth in 2014.
The top six boats qualified for early acceptance to the 2017 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships – a qualifier for the 2017 ISAF Youth World Championships in Israel.
Coverage
- For Twitter updates from the racecourse, results and standings, photos, final report, and more information from the 2016 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, please visit the event website.
- Follow on Twitter and Instagram at #Leiter16.
Results – Top 6 – Final Standings
1. Talia Toland, Seattle Yacht Club/Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, 1-5-5-4-2-2-1-4-1-[14]- ; 25
2. Kiera O’Reardon, Houston Yacht Club, 3-2-4-1-9-6-3-3-3-[17]- ; 34
3. Abbie Carlson, Seattle Yacht Club, 9-1-2-2-1-[14]-8-9-11-5- ; 48
4. Lillian Myers, Sarasota Youth Sailing, 16-3-17-[23]-3-1-2-6-8-1- ; 57
5. Julia Sheaffer, Lakewood Yacht Club, 14-6-[21]-7-11-3-5-2-13-4- ; 65
6. Maggie Toombs, Orcas Island Yacht Club/ Sail Orcas, 5-7-6-14-6-4-4-14-9-[19]- ; 69
This Championship was preceded by two days of clinics featuring a collection the country’s top coaches. The clinics were led by Richard Feeny, US Sailing Junior National Coach.
Participating Coaches
- John Pearce: US Sailing Youth Development Director
- Scott Ikle: Hobart and William Smith Head Coach
- Matt Lindblad: MIT Head Coach
- Hannah Tuson-Turner: Sail Orcas Sailing Director
- Jaclyn Hollander: Southwestern Yacht Club
Championship Notes
- Support of the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship as well as the clinics associated with the event is made possible by funds provided by the late C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. to perpetuate his unwavering dedication to junior women’s sailing. This support is intended to encourage young American women to enhance their sailing ability, with emphasis on sportsmanship, by providing the opportunity to compete in national-level competition with guidance from high-level coaching. Tom Clagett’s family continues to assist in fulfilling his vision
- The U.S. Junior Women’s Championships Committee annually hosts two events: a Singlehanded and a Doublehanded championship. Both championships are open events.
- The U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship started in 1980.
Prizes
- The Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy is the perpetual trophy presented to the winning team.
- US Sailing Championship medals will be awarded to competitors who finish first through fifth.
- Trophies will be awarded to competitors finishing in the top three places.
- The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Sportsmanship Prize will be awarded to a team based on the results of the competitors’ ballots.
The 2016 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship is sponsored by Gill North America and Switlik Survival Products. This US Sailing National Championship is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regatta.
Sailing by the lee,
in afternoon northerly,
race Lake Washington.#Leiter16 pic.twitter.com/CKupTQgx3W— Greg Johnson (@climate_haiku) July 30, 2016
Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager, jakefish@ussailing.org
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. 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 US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the exclusive importer and distributor of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, US and Canada. Gill is a worldwide apparel and accessories brand serving the marine industry with over three decades of experience. Gill specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company develops and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear. Gill products are available through hundreds of independent dealers and select West Marine Stores. For further information, please contact: Gary Barker at 941 505 2111 or gary.barker@gillna.com.
About Switlik
Established in 1920, Switlik Parachute Co. has been owned and operated by the Switlik family for four generations and is known worldwide as a manufacturer of the highest quality sewn and heat sealed inflatable safety and survival products for the aviation, marine, and military/government markets. Our capabilities include a wide variety of anti-exposure and anti-g suits, inflatable life rafts, inflatable life vests, inflation systems and other specialty textile-based military equipment all manufactured at our 85,000 sq. ft facility located in Trenton, NJ USA. www.switlik.com