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New York Yacht Club Silver Panda Wins U.S. Team Racing Championship For A Third
Consecutive Time
Erie, Penn. (August 18, 2008) - There were no major upsets at the U.S. Team
Racing Championship over the weekend, when for a third consecutive time, and a
fourth time overall, team New York Yacht Club Silver Panda won the event, hosted
by Erie Yacht Club (Erie, Penn.) and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Nautica,
LaserPerformance, and Dry Creek Vineyard. The Silver Panda team - made up of
Pete Levesque (Tiverton, R.I.), Elizabeth Hall (Washington, D.C.), Clay Bischoff
(Philadelphia, Penn.), Lisa Keith (Boston, Mass.), Colin Merrick (Portsmouth,
R.I.), and Amanda Callahan (Canton, Mass.) - won US SAILING's George R. Hinman
Trophy in convincing style, defeating British team West Kirby Hawks in Sunday's
finals without losing a single race. Silver Panda has once again qualified to
represent the USA at the Team Racing World Championship to be held in Australia
in early 2009.
"This was a very competitive regatta," said Pete Levesque of New York Yacht Club
Silver Panda, adding, "The fleet was very deep with a lot of high-quality
racing."
New York Yacht Club Silver Panda has dominated team racing on national and
international levels in recent years, winning several major team racing events,
including the Team Racing World Championship and the Wilson Trophy. They
previously won the U.S. Team Racing Championship in 2002, 2006, 2007, and now in
2008. They will be looking to defend their World Championship title when they
hit the waters off Perth, Australia, in January 2009.
For the second-place team from Great Britain (made up of Dom Johnson, Debs Hill,
Ben Field, Tom Foster, Andy Cornah, and Hamish Walker), the U.S. Team Racing
Championship served as a great trial run in preparation for their nation's World
Championship qualifier scheduled for next month.
Joel Hanneman of Newport, R.I., has for several years been dedicating quite a
bit of his time to help grow the sport of team racing, not only in his
professional career working as an engineer for event sponsor LaserPerformance,
but also as a driving force for the Rhode Island Team Racing Association
(www.ritra.org). In addition, he has developed a team racing program for
keelboats at Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Mass. For all his efforts and his
dedicated commitment, Hanneman was recognized by being presented with the Gay
Lynn Service Award.
Complete results, daily reports, and photos from the event are posted on the
event website at www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/ustrc. The U.S. Team
Racing Championship for the George R. Hinman Trophy is part of US SAILING's
National Championships series. For more information about these events, visit
www.ussailing.org/championships.
About the Event Sponsors
As with all US SAILING Adult National Championships, the U.S. Team Racing
Championship is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. LaserPerformance, manufacturer
of Vanguard 15s sailed in this championship, is a sponsor of the U.S. Team
Racing Championship, along with several other U.S. Championships. Nautica-the
Official General Apparel Supplier to US SAILING and the US Sailing Team
AlphaGraphics-also returns this year as a sponsor of the Championship. Dry Creek
Vineyard sponsors several U.S. Championships, including the U.S. Team Racing
Championship.
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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