Tod Reynolds
Sailor of the Week: August 12-18
Tod Reynolds made the most of his four years on the Northwestern University sailing team, both on and off the water. He not only made a positive impact on his own personal sailing career, but set an example for the entire collegiate sailing community. Earlier this summer, Tod received the 2010 James Rousmaniere Award for Student Leadership from the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA), which recognizes an undergraduate whose efforts have made a significant contribution to the development, progress and success of his or her club or team, conference, or the ICSA.
As a freshman he was selected team captain. He organized a spring training trip to Texas that year, and split time between his own practicing and racing, while coaching three days a week. He helped lead his team to the ICSA Gill National Championships in 2008. His influence helped Northwestern’s club roster grow to 67 members.
“As a club program, we are completely student run,” said Tod. “We are responsible for settin g up our own practices, fundraising, recruiting, and all of the other little details that go into running a team.”
During his sophomore year he implemented a boat replacement program, which ensured the team would receive new boats every four years. Tod expanded his service to college sailing by servin g on the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association (MCSA) Executive Board. As race chairman he organized the first MCSA Match Racing event at Sail Sheboygan, a US SAILING Center. He was eventually elected MCSA Commodore and served on the board of directors.
Tod was born and raised in Summitt, N.J. He grew up in a sailing family and is the son of Buzz Reynolds, who was a nationally ranked Finn class sailor. His sailing days began at the age of seven, when he ventured out with his dad in weekend races on his E-Scow. Tod contributed by opening bailers and packing spinnakers.
Tod has aspirations of going on the world match racing tour some day. As a crew for Taylor Canfield of Boston College, their team finished third at the Chicago Match Cup this month. This weekend he’ll be tuning up for the J105 North American Championships in Chicago this September.
Currently, Tod (pictured far right) is focused on using his engineering degree. This fall he will start control system design work for nuclear submarines at Electric Boat in Groton, Conn.
“My dad taught me that we would not have a sport to compete in if it wasn’t for volunteers, who give back by organizing clubs or running events,” added Tod. “Sometimes organizing events can be just as fun, challenging, and memorable, as sailing in one.”