Nicole Rothstein
Hobie Sailor of the Month: July 5-11, 2012 US Sailing makes it a priority to recognize those volunteers who make our National Championships possible. This week, we’d like to salute Nicole Rothstein, the Event Chair for the 2012 US Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, which is currently taking place on Lake Michigan and hosted by Chicago Yacht Club.
In preparation for this week’s US Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, Nicole did her homework by attending and observing last year’s event at the Richmond Yacht Club (Calif.). Nicole noted that their biggest challenge in making the 2012 Championship a reality, was finding Laser Radial charters at an affordable cost. This was a challenge in a city that lacks Laser Radial sailors. Eventually, through word of mouth and due diligence, they were able to find a few local sailors willing to find a boat for every girl that needed one.
Housing was also a major obstacle, due to the fact that the event started just days after the Fourth of July. The Club’s core group of host families was unavailable due to timing and vacations. Nicole considered crisis mode when more than half of the sailors needed places to stay with three weeks until the start of the Championship.
“Luckily, a member on the Board was able to regenerate interest and Chicago Yacht Club families started to band together and come through on housing in an unimaginable and unparalleled way,” explained Nicole. “I couldn't be more grateful to our host families who stepped up and truly made this event a great experience for the sailors.”
Nicole went on to say that, “I have been honored and humbled many times throughout the past year by the amount of generosity, time, and commitment that the Chicago Yacht Club community has given to the US Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship. While there are certainly too many people to name individually, this regatta could not have been run without the inexhaustible efforts put forth by Lynn Lynch and Martha Pitt.”
Forty-eight sailors are competing for the Leiter Cup at this year’s US Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship in Chicago. Racing concludes on Wednesday, July 11. Learn more.