2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship – Blog Updates
June 26-30, 2019
San Diego Yacht Club
Cameron Feves, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club Wins
2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup
Photo Caption: L to R – Taylor Milefchik, Lukas Kraak, Justin Zmina, Cameron Feves
Cameron Feves (Long Beach, Calif.) and his team representing the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club won the 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup. Feves and crew, including Lukas Kraak, Justin Zmina, and Taylor Milefchik earned the title on Sunday, following three days of closely contested match racing between 10 teams on San Diego Harbor.
Feves’ team won the Finals on Sunday afternoon, 3-0, over Porter Killian (Newport Beach, Calif.). They also swept the semifinal series, 3-0, over Jeffrey Petersen (Santa Ana, Calif.) and defeated Sidney Gathrid (Los Angeles, Calif.), 3-1, in the quarterfinals. Feves posted a 5-4 record in the round robin stage.
The win was sweet for Feves who came up just short of the Rose Cup in 2018. Feves was the Runner-Up in last year’s U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
Killian’s second place team from the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club featured Kelly Hanlon, Amanda Majernik, and Chris Sharpless.
David Wood (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) of the Balboa Yacht Club and the 2017 Rose Cup Champion, finished third overall after a 2-0 win in the Petit Finals over Petersen. Wood’s team includes Max Mayol, Marbella Marlo, and Daniel Pegg.
Conditions were light and fluky in the morning, with a large wind shift from the left side of the course. Once the conditions settled, the wind was a steady 10 knots for most of the racing under sunny, blue skies.
News and Coverage:
WATCH FACEBOOK LIVE STREAM – Sunday, June 30
Event Website: Event Details, Photos, and more
The Nick Scandone Sportsmanship Award – Voted on by the competing sailors:
Christophe Chaumont, Fort Worth Boat Club
Peter Vaseliades
Celia Houston
Taft Buckley
Quotes from Cameron Feves:
“The weekend went pretty well. We started out pretty slow, but we won when it mattered. We were a little better in the lighter stuff. It was breezier on Saturday and right when it mattered it died down quite a bit. We won a few races and that was great for us.”
“The final race was quite simple. We used the same technique as the last six races. We started on the starboard entry and came out of the dial up, went around the media boat, started on the hip of the other boat and tacked away. We went up the course with better speed than them and just stayed ahead.”
The 10th Annual 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship was hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club. Sailing Illustrated provided Facebook Live video coverage on Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30, featuring commentators Andy Rose, Tom Ehman, Allie Blecher, and Josh Toso.
Ten teams of four, consisting of at least one female and one male crew per boat, raced the J/22. Coaching and instruction played a major role in these sailors’ experience. Five-time U.S. Match Racing Champion, Dave Perry, led a North U Advanced Match Racing Clinic on Wednesday and Thursday, June 26 and 27. Perry was assisted by match racing experts, Mike Pinckney and Scott Dickson.
This invitational event for 16 to 20 year olds has served as an outstanding training ground for U.S. youth sailors who are passionate about match racing and focused on competing at the next level.
Media Contacts:
San Diego Yacht Club Communications: Casey Allocco, casey@sdyc.org
US Sailing Communications: Jake Fish, jakefish@ussailing.org
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and advancement for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, 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. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
Day 2 – Semifinals Near Complete – Finals to be Raced Sunday
Saturday, June 29
The field of 10 completed their round robin stage from Friday and the eight-team quarterfinals to determine the top four. Semifinals also started on Saturday and will conclude early Sunday with the final round to follow.
David Wood, who finished the round robin perfect as the top seed with nine points over nine races. He cruised to semifinals with a 3-0 win over Owen Lahr. Undefeated heading into the semifinals, Wood has run into a challenge in Porter Killian who took a quick 2-0 lead in their first to three wins series. Despite only three wins in the round robin, Killian bounced back with a 3-1 over Ansgar Jordan in the quarterfinals. Jordan was the number two seed with eight points in the round robin.
Cameron Feves leads Jeffery Petersen 2-0 in the second semifinal match. Feves defeated Sidney Gathrid 3-1 and Petersen upended Jack Egan 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Feves had five wins in the round robin while Petersen had four wins.
Racing took place from 11:00 am to nearly 6:00 pm PT. Conditions were variable throughout the day. Light breeze in the morning picked up to about 10 knots. Winds topped out at about 12 knots on the day. The wind dropped considerably in the afternoon and began to osculate with wind shifts during the semifinals, making it a challenge for the sailors and the race committee. The courses were shortened and adjusted to accommodate the fairest conditions possible.
WATCH Saturday’s Racing: Facebook Live
Watch the action on Facebook Live from San Diego Harbor for racing on Sunday. The Morning Shows begin at 9:15 am PT and the racing action gets underway at approximately 11:00 am PT. We will be streaming Sunday’s daily press conference and awards ceremony following the racing.
Day 1 – Round Robin Stage Underway in San Diego
Friday, June 28
The 10 teams competing for the Rose Cup this weekend started round robin play on Friday under outstanding San Diego conditions, including sunny skies, 7-11 knots of breeze, and light chop for most of the day. Teams experienced steady wind with a few random wind shifts, but mostly consistent breeze. The wind started early, which supported the 11 am start time.
David Wood, the 2017 Rose Cup Champion, got off to a strong start by winning all eight of his races. Teams completed nine flights with two more remaining in the round robin on Saturday. Two teams will be eliminated from contention following this stage. Standings
Watch the action on Facebook Live from San Diego Harbor for racing on Saturday. The Morning Shows begin at 9:15 am PT and the racing action gets underway at approximately 11:00 am PT. We will be streaming Satuday’s daily press conference following the racing.
Facebook Live: Watch the Action Live on June 29-30
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (June 26, 2019) – A talented and accomplished collection of the best youth match racers in the country have touched down in sunny Southern California this week for the 2019 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup, hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club. Racing begins Friday, June 28 and concludes Sunday, June 30.
Celebrating its 10th annual running, this invitational event for 16 to 20 year olds has served as an outstanding training ground for U.S. youth sailors who are passionate about match racing and focused on competing at the next level.
Ten teams of four, consisting of at least one female and one male crew per boat, will be racing the J/22. Coaching and instruction will play a major role in these sailors’ experience. Five-time U.S. Match Racing Champion, Dave Perry, will lead a North U Advanced Match Racing Clinic on Wednesday and Thursday, June 26 and 27. Perry will be assisted by match racing expert, Mike Pinckney.
“I’m really excited to work with the 40 sailors competing this week at the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship,” said Perry. “They are the best youth match racers in the country and will soon be competing at the college level and for the U.S. Match Racing Championship.”
Six of the 10 skippers from the 2018 U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship in Oyster Bay, N.Y. will return to compete for the Rose Cup again this year in San Diego. The top skipper from this year’s Rose Cup will receive an invitation to compete at the 2019 Governor’s Cup in July, hosted by the Balboa Yacht Club (Calif.). The top skipper will also receive an invitation to race at the 2019 Oakcliff Halloween Invitational at Oakcliff Sailing (N.Y.) in October.
Racing will take place in San Diego Harbor. The racing format will consist of a round robin stage, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals, and consolation races.
Originally known as the Rose Cup, this event was founded by members of the Balboa Yacht Club and the Newport Balboa Sailing and Seamanship Association (NBSSA), and was started as an invitational youth match race event in 2010. The mission is to promote youth match racing in the U.S. and improve the skills of racers from around the country in national and international competition. In 2015, US Sailing elevated the Rose Cup to an official US Sailing National Championship.