US SAILING Presents National Award for Race Administration to Bill Bentsen

Newport, R.I. (March 15, 2008) - US SAILING, national governing body for the 
sport, has announced it is presenting its Harman Hawkins Trophy for excellence 
in Race Administration to Bill Bentsen (Chicago, Ill.). US SAILING President Jim 
Capron and Race Administration Committee Chair Dick Rose made the announcement 
earlier today at US SAILING's Spring Meeting in Newport, Rhode Island. Unable to 
attend the US SAILING meeting, Bentsen will officially be presented with the 
award at a later date. Presented annually, US SAILING's Harman Hawkins Trophy is 
awarded to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the sport of 
sailing in the field of race administration (judging, race management, appeals 
and racing rules).

After an outstanding sailing career capped by two Olympic medals, Bentsen has 
made significant contributions in all areas of Race Administration. He has been 
influential in setting the direction for the US SAILING Judges program when that 
program was in its infancy and has become a highly respected US SAILING Senior 
Judge and an International Judge serving at all levels of the sport, including 
the Olympic Games. In the 1970s, working with the race committees at the 
national sailing center at Association Island, N.Y., Bentsen developed 
strikingly innovative and effective new race management techniques. 

Bentsen's major contribution has been on the US SAILING Appeals Committee as 
well as both the US SAILING and the International Sailing Federation Racing 
Rules Committees. He served on those three committees for decades and his 
contributions are legendary. It is no exaggeration to say that Bentsen's 
knowledge of sailboat racing and his analytic and writing skills have affected 
every racing rule, every US SAILING appeal and every ISAF case. Following in the 
footsteps of Harold Vanderbilt, Gregg Bemis, Gerald Sambrook-Sturgess, and Mary 
Pera, Bentsen is the person who has made the most contributions to improving the 
racing rules of sailing in the last thirty years. 

US SAILING's Harman Hawkins Trophy is named after Harman Hawkins (1919-2002), 
whose extraordinary involvement in sailing and numerous chairmanships of the 
Appeals, Judges, and Legal Committees brought him many honors and awards, 
including US SAILING's Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy. In his lifetime, Hawkins 
served as a President of US SAILING, Commodore of Manhasset Bay Yacht Club and 
Storm Trysail Club, as well as President of the Yacht Racing Association of Long 
Island Sound. 

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 for the sport of sailing in the U.S. 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.

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