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WORLD-CLASS SAILORS TO COMPETE IN U.S. DISABLED SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP ON LONG ISLAND SOUND, JUNE 6 - 9
RYE, N.Y., May 27, 2008 - They are successful surgeons and coaches, professors
and investment bankers, entrepreneurs and parents. They are nationally and
internationally recognized as outstanding athletes. And: they are physically
disabled. Dozens of sailors from the United States and Canada will gather on
the first weekend in June to compete for US SAILING's Chandler Hovey trophy and
the Judd Goldman trophy at a four-day event hosted in Rye, N.Y., by the American
Yacht Club (AYC) and neighboring Larchmont Yacht Club (LYC). It is the only
national sailing championship for disabled sailors. Managed by US SAILING, the
sport's national governing body, the challenge is open to any sailor with a
physical disability. Past events have included quadriplegics, paraplegics and
amputees, as well as individuals with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, polio
and ALS. Several of the participants will go on to compete in the Paralympic
Games in China this coming September.
"These athletes defy the public image of disabled people living in a deep
depression and waiting for their next disability check", says Hugh Elliott,
chief judge for the event and himself a former Paralympic contender. "They have
overcome enormous challenges, and they are better people for it."
Racing sailboats is one of the only sports where disabled and able-bodied
athletes can compete as equals. In many cases, adaptive aids are used and
modifications made to equipment on board the boats to minimize disability and
maximize ability. AYC's Regatta Chair Bill Sandberg says the competitors are
outstanding sailors who "just happen to have a disability."
Competition will be held in three classes of boats: 2.4mR (singlehanded, meaning
one sailor); Sonar (triplehanded); and Ideal 18 (doublehanded). In order to
level the playing field in the Sonar class, the athletes are rated by their
disability - someone with a 7 rating being the most able-bodied - and the
numbers are then added up to a team rating. Each team must stay below a certain
number of points in order to qualify.
Mark LeBlanc from New Orleans will attempt to defend last year's title in the
2.4mR class against a formidable field of contenders, including former
Paralympian Bruce Millar and Paul Tingley, who will go on to represent Canada at
the Paralympics this fall.
The competition in the Sonar class is expected to be fierce, as U.S. Paralympic
team members Rick Doerr, Tim Angle and Bill Donohue will face off against last
year's winners Albert Foster, David Burdette and Jim Thweatt, as well as former
Paralympic contenders Paul Callahan, Roger Cleworth and Tom Brown. The Canadian
team of Danny McCoy (replacing an injured Ken Kelly), Don Terlson and Marc Shaw
has also qualified for the Paralympics.
The Ideal 18 class, initially intended as an entry-level competition, has
attracted some unexpected buzz as the Canadian Paralympic team of John McRoberts
and Stacy Louttit, who usually sail in the Skud-18 class, are going to compete
for the title against world-class sailors such as last year's winner in the
Freedom 20 class, Jean-Paul Creignou. Sarah Skeels and Bob Jones - a Skud team
that placed fourth at the US Trials - are each going to skipper their own boat.
West Coast sailor Mike Strahle, Trapseat Hobie champion, will switch to a
monohull to compete in the Championship.
Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard, UBS, The Carlyle Group, Heineken and EMA
Clocks are all sponsors for the event.
Since the 1980s, US SAILING has actively supported sailboat racing among
physically challenged sailors. The winner in the Sonar class will receive US
SAILING's Chandler Hovey, Jr. Trophy, named for "Buzz" Hovey. Hovey was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1947, but continued to race actively --
with able-bodied sailors -- until he retired from the racing circuit in 1981.
The Judd Goldman Trophy, given to the winner in the 2.4mR class, is named for
Justin "Judd" Goldman (1914-1989). Despite his own physical disability, Goldman
was an accomplished sailor and inspired the creation of the Judd Goldman
Adaptive Sailing Program in Chicago, Illinois.
The inaugural Independence Cup took place in 1990 and the event has been held
annually since then. For the past decade, the Chicago Yacht Club hosted the U.S.
Disabled Sailing Championship. Beginning this year, the Championship will be
hosted by different sailing organizations around the country every year to
expand awareness of disabled sailing and encourage disabled individuals to take
up the sport.
Numerous media opportunities exist during the four-day regatta. Media outlets
interested in covering the event are asked to contact Kristin Jautz, the PR
coordinator for AYC. For more information about the U.S. Disabled Sailing
Championship, please visit www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usic. This site
will be updated with daily reports, latest results, and photos as the event is
happening.
About the American Yacht Club
The American Yacht Club (AYC) was founded in 1883 in New York City and this year
is celebrating its 125 anniversary. Originally a club for steam yachts, AYC is
now a premier sailing and racing club. In the past, Club members have been
America's Cup Defenders, Trans-Atlantic, and Bermuda Race winners. AYC sailors
have been Long Island Sound, North American and World Champions in a number of
classes. They have competed in the Olympics and captured Olympic medals - most
recently in 1996, when Courtenay Becker-Dey took a bronze in the Europe class.
Four AYC skippers have won the U.S. Women's Sailing Championship. AYC is proud
to promote yacht design and prominent sailboat designers such as Bill Tripp and
the Herreshoffs are or have been members. Located at the tip of Milton Point in
Rye, New York, the club currently has about 900 members. For more information
and directions, please visit www.americanyc.com.
American Yacht Club would like to thank the Flag Officers and members of
Larchmont Yacht Club for their cooperation and support for this year's
Championship. Larchmont Yacht Club will be hosting the Championship in 2011
with the support of American Yacht Club.
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 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.
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