US SAILING Launches National Championship Season with U.S. Adult and Youth Multihull Championships
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jake Fish
US SAILING, Communications Manager
401.683.0800 x614
jakefish@ussailing.org
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (June 8, 2011) – Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, Calif. will host the U.S. Multihull Championship for the Hobie Alter Trophy on June 15-18, preceded by the U.S. Youth Multihull Championship for the Arthur J. Stevens Trophy on June 11-12. Competition in Viper F16s will take place on the waters of San Pedro Bay, either in the Long Beach outer harbor or off the Seal Beach Pier.
U.S. Multihull Championship Preview
Twenty elite multihull teams will compete for this year’s U.S. Multihull Championship next week, beginning Wednesday. Several former champions will be on hand for a chance to win another national title.
Jon Casey (Longwood, Fla.) and John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.) won the title together in 2009 and 2007, and finished sixth last year. This year, they are racing separately. Casey is racing with Dalton Tebo (Sarasota, Fla.) and Williams is crewing for Dennis Key (San Diego, Calif.). Most recently, Casey won the 39-team 2010 St. Barthelemy Cata-Cup Championships. Williams was selected to compete at the 2011 Pan American Games with Greg Thomas in Guadalajara, Mexico from Oct. 14-30.
Skipper Nigel Pitt (Hartwell, Ga.) won the event in 2008. This year he’ll be sailing with his wife, Tammy. Former US Sailing Team member and 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 470 Pease Glaser (Long Beach, Calf.) will be sailing with husband Jay, who won an Olympic silver medal in the Tornado class in 1984. Team Glaser finished eighth last year. In 2009, Glaser finished sixth out of 42 at the A Class Catamarans North American Championship and seventh at the F18 North American Championships.
Taylor Reiss (Panama City, Fla.) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, Fla.) finished seventh in last year’s championship and will be representing the U.S. at the ISAF Youth World Championships in Zadar, Croatia on July 7-16. Reiss and Whitehead will also be competing in the U.S. Youth Multihull Championship.
Twenty races are scheduled. Three races must be completed to constitute a championship. When fewer than six races have been completed, a team’s series score will be the total of all scores. When six or more races have been completed, a team’s series score will be the total of its race scores excluding its worst excludable score.
The U.S. Multihull Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Gill North America and Hobie Polarized Sunglasses and Red Gear Racing. Australian High Performance Catamarans is the official boat supplier for the U.S. Multihull Championship.
For results, recaps, photos and more, visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult_Championships/USMHChampionship.htm
U.S. Youth Multihull Championship Preview
Fourteen doublehanded teams will compete for the Arthur J. Stevens Trophy this Saturday and Sunday. The defending champion, skipper Korbin Kirk (San Diego, Calif.) returns to Long Beach for a chance to defend his title from January of 2009. He will be sailing this week with Trevor Hecht (San Diego, Calif.). Kirk won the U.S. Youth Doublehanded Championship for the Bemis Trophy in 2008.
Reiss and Whitehead competed in 2009 and finished seventh. They return this year for a chance to contend for the championship. This duo has been competing at a high level in 2011. They finished second out of 25 teams at the F18 National Midwinters and second out of 23 at the F16 National Championships, in the junior divisions.
Skipper Taylor Palmer (Miami, Fla.) finished in fifth place in 2009. He’ll be paired up this year with crew Raul Lopez (Miami, Fla.). Palmer finished in third place at the ISAF Youth World Championships in the SL16 division. Elizabeth Newberry (Miami, Fla.) crewed for Palmer in 2009 and this year she’ll be crewing for Maria Sinagra (Miami, Fla.).
Also contending for this year’s championship is Ben Brown (Los Altos, Calif.) who is sailing with Luc Lisi (Los Altos, Calif.). Brown finished third at the 2010 Hobie 16 National Championship in the Youth division.
A total of 10 races are scheduled. Three races must be completed to constitute a complete championship.
The U.S. Youth Multihull Championship is sponsored by Gill North America, Hobie Polarized Sunglasses, Switlik and Red Gear Racing. Australian High Performance Catamarans is the official boat supplier for the U.S. Youth Multihull Championship.
For results, recaps, photos and more, visit the event website at http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/USYMH.htm.
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Championship Notes
Teams in both championships will race using Australian High Performance Catamaran Viper F16s provided by Red Gear Racing… The U.S. Multihull Championship is a mix of qualifiers through Area Semi-Finals and invitation... The U.S. Youth Multihull Championship competitors qualify by sailing a resume only… US SAILING medals will be awarded to the first, second and third place teams for both championships… The W. Darline Hobock Sportsmanship Prize will be awarded at the U.S. Youth Multihull Championship.
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 AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org .
About Rolex Watch U.S.A.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, offshore, one-design and women's events.
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 headquarters is located in Plainview, New York. For further information, please visit the company’s website at www.hobiepolarized.com .
About SWITLIK
SWITLIK is proud to be a sponsor of the U.S. Youth and Junior Sailing Championships, the pinnacle of performance dinghy sailing for America’s young adults. These fine young sailors exhibit the same type of drive, performance and perseverance that goes into every SWITLIK product.
Established in 1920, SWITLIK has been family owned and operated for four generations. Known worldwide as a manufacturer of the highest quality personnel safety and survival products for the marine, aviation and military/government markets, SWITLIK products are designed and manufactured in the USA to meet the toughest performance standards. From the world's finest race marks to the most trusted survival equipment and technical protective clothing, SWITLIK products are defined by Quality, Performance and Innovation, every day, in all we do. SWITLIK - Simply the best for over 90 years. For more information, please visit www.SWITLIK.com .
About Red Gear Racing
Red Gear Racing specializes in providing coaching for racers of all levels through Olympic Class racing. Since 1996 we have offered group and private coaching at our base in Clearwater, Fla., as well as conducted training camps and seminars all over the world year round. We support a wide range of classes, but specialize in catamarans of all sizes. Our training camp schedule can be found at www.RedGearRacing.com or we can be contacted at 727-734-0799 to schedule your own training camp in your location. All training camps are customized for the sailors in attendance and cover a variety of information including boat set up, team choreography, speed, sail tuning, boat handling, nutrition, maintenance and more.
About Australian High Performance Catamarans
AHPC designs and builds some of the fastest and high tech racing catamarans in the world. For over 30 years Managing Director and Head Designer, Greg Goodall, has been creating championship winning catamarans and has an unrivaled determination to bring the highest quality product to his customers. For more information, please visit the company website www.ahpc.com.au
About Alamitos Bay Yacht Club
Since its founding in 1924, ALAMITOS BAY YACHT CLUB has emphasized three things: excellence in sailboat racing, a family atmosphere and the enjoyment of sailing in all its phases. We hope you have an opportunity to visit our beautiful facility with its ideal location on Alamitos Bay. ABYC offers easy access to one of the finest racing areas in the world and the rich cruising destinations of Santa Catalina and other Channel Islands.
Alamitos Bay offers sheltered waters for sailing, swimming and sunning on sandy beaches just a short stroll from our facilities. Our members enjoy hosting national, regional and world championship regattas as well as maintaining a diverse cruising schedule. The active Junior Program works to instill a love of sailing as well as racing skills in all of its participants. Over 400 families are members of ALAMITOS BAY YACHT CLUB. http://www.abyc.org/ .