> US SAILING Media > Latest News > 2010 > Country’s Top Sailors Challenged in all Disciplines at US SAILING's Chubb U.S. Junior Championships
Country’s Top Sailors Challenged in all Disciplines at US SAILING's Chubb U.S. Junior Championships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
jakefish@ussailing.org
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (August 12, 2010) – US SAILING’s 2010 Junior and Youth Championships season reaches its pinnacle in August. US SAILING will ride the momentum from the three successful summer events into next week’s US SAILING's 2010 Chubb U.S. Junior Championships in San Diego, Calif. Sailors between the ages of 13 and 18 qualified to represent their region through ladder event eliminations held among more than 1,000 yacht clubs and 150 community sailing programs across country to compete in three disciplines - Singlehanded (Lasers), Doublehanded (Club 420s), and Triplehanded (Lightnings). Chubb’s U.S. Junior Championships, hosted by the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs, begins on Monday, Aug. 16 and runs through Wednesday, Aug. 18.
The singlehanded fleet features familiar names from last week’s U.S. Youth Sailing Championships’ Laser Division. John Wallace (St. Petersburg Yacht Club) was dominant in his convincing win, and is poised to make a run at the Smythe Trophy. Trey Hartman (Lakewood Yacht Club) was second to Wallace last week, and seventh at last year’s championship in the singlehanded fleet. Lucas Adams (Sail Newport) finished fourth at the Youth Champs last week. While he was second in last year’s triplehanded fleet, this is his first appearance at this event sailing singlehanded. The 2009 U.S. Junior Doublehanded Champion Kieran Chung (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) is also making the switch to the singlehanded fleet this time around.
2010 U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Champions (USJWDC), Kate Rakelly (Mission Bay Yacht Club) and Colleen Hackett (Mission Bay Yacht Club), lead a talented doublehanded fleet. They will be challenged by Pearson Potts (New York Yacht Club / FAST) and Caitlin Connerney (Ida Lewis Yacht Club / FAST), who just won the 2010 Club 420 North American Championships. Gram Slattery (Eastern Yacht Club) and Brian Drumm (Eastern Yacht Club) finished second at the Youth Championships last week, and Holly Tullo (Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club) and Haley Fox (Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club) will try to improve on their third place finish at this year’s USJWDC to be awarded the Bemis Trophy.
Dylan Vogel and crewmates Sam Hallowell and Casey Brown, all representing Sail Newport, have high hopes of challenging for this year’s title and to have their names on engraved on the Sears Trophy, US SAILING’s oldest junior trophy. Vogel and Hallowell are no strangers to this event. Last year as crew, they finished second in the triplehanded fleet, and in 2008 they gained third place honors. Korbin Kirk (Long Beach Yacht Club), Michael Dahl (Newport Harbor Yacht Club), and Daniel Segerblom (Newport Harbor Yacht Club) will also challenge for the triplehanded championship. Kirk, alongside his sister Haley, was the 2008 U.S. Junior Doublehanded Champion. Still it won’t be easy as two time defending triplehanded champions, Scott and Evan Hoffmann (Mission Bay Yacht Club), will be joined by Reece Bernet this year (Southwestern Yacht Club).
The championship is sponsored by Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Gill North America, LaserPerformance, and Hobie Sunglasses. Competition is just a part of the experience associated with this great series. Clinics will be held for each fleet, including the Gill College Night seminar this Sunday, Aug. 15 featuring Frank Ustach, US SAILING’s Junior National Coach; Scott Ikle, head coach at Hobart and William Smith Colleges; and Mitch Brindley, head coach at Old Dominion University. Additionally sportsmanship trophies are awarded in all three fleets as well as a shipshape award for the triplehanded team that keeps their borrowed boats in the best condition.
Visit the event web site for daily recaps, standings, Sailgroove videos, photo galleries, and more. To get up-to-the-minute updates from the championship, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
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, promotes integrity, and fosters growth for the sport of sailing in the United States. 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.
About Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
Member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies form a multi-billion-dollar organization providing property and casualty insurance for personal and commercial customers through 4,000 independent agents and brokers worldwide. Since its founding in the seaport district of New York City in 1882, Chubb has been a leading insurer of marine-related operations. Chubb provides comprehensive insurance and loss control services to private yacht clubs, marina operators and yacht owners. Chubb’s global network includes branches and affiliates throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. More information on Chubb may be obtained at www.chubb.com.
About LaserPerformance
LaserPerformance is a global company formed from a merger between Vanguard Sailboats and Performance Sailcraft Europe. LaserPerformance is the world’s largest supplier of recreational and high performance sailboats. LaserPerformance products include the Sunfish and the Olympic class Laser, two of the most recognized brands in the sailing world. LaserPerformance has offices in Portsmouth RI (US), Long Buckby (UK), Melbourne (AU), Middle East (UAE), and Hong Kong. For more information on LaserPerformance, call 401-683-0960 or visit their web site at www.laserperformance.com.
About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the sole distributor and licensee of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, Central America, US and Canada. Gill is an apparel and accessories leader in the worldwide marine industry for over three decades and specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company tests, designs 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. Available through hundreds of dealers nationally, Gill NA is the sole distributor and licensee of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America, where it is the top selling yachting clothing brand. For more information on Gill NA, visit the company website at http://www.gillna.com/or contact Lance Jones at Gill NA, (678) 730-5581 / e-mail: lance@gillna.com
About Hobie Polarized
Hobie Polarized is a leading designer, developer, marketer and distributor of polarized eyewear. The brand’s innovative lens technology allows total glare reduction, 100% UV protection, enhances contrast and provides optimum visual acuity. The company’s products are sold worldwide and are used by watermen at all skill and lifestyle levels. The Hobie Polarized headquarter is located in Plainview, New York. For further information, please visit the company’s website at www.hobiepolarized.com.