Semaine Olympique Francaise - Team AlphaGraphics head to Hyeres

by Dana Paxton on 19 Apr 2012 French Olympic Sailing Week (otherwise known as Semaine Olympique Francaise), will get underway on the 21st of April and run through to the 27th of April. US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics are in Hyeres, France to take part in the event and prepare for the pinnacle in sailing competition, the 2012 London Olympic Games which begins in only 100 days.

'Our European season is in full swing,' said US Sailing’s High Performance Director/Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). 'Today marks 100 days until the Olympic Games begin with the Paralympic Games following 16 days after. Our team is training in Hyeres this week, and, together with our Team coaches, working on a number of Games-specific goals. We have been working hard over the last four years to put a plan together where our sailors will peak at the right time, and this event is one of many steps toward the end goal.'

There are 26 USSTAG athletes competing at this event, 15 of whom have qualified for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Teams.

Competing in the French Olympic Sailing Week:

2.4mR – Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.)
49er – Erik Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Trevor Moore (N. Pomfret, Vt./Naples, Fla.)
470 Men – Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.)
470 Women – Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah Lihan (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Finn – Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)
Laser – Rob Crane (Darien, Conn.)
RS:X Men – Bob Willis (Chicago, Ill.)
RS:X Women – Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)
SKUD-18 – Jen French (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and JP Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Sonar – Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla./Newport R.I.), Tom Brown (Castine, Me.) and Bradley Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.)

USSTAG received berths for all three of its Women’s Match Racing teams:

- Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), Molly Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.)
- Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), Alana O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and Elizabeth Kratzig Burnham (Miami, Fla.)
- Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), Jenn Chamberlin (Washington, D.C.) and Alice Manard Leonard (New Orleans, La./East Haven, Conn.)

Women’s Match Racing selection for the 2012 Olympic Team is set for the US Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta, May 4-9, in Weymouth, U.K.

Fred Strammer (Nokomis, Fla.) and Zach Brown (San Diego, Calif.), members of the 2012 US Sailing Development Team, will compete in the 49er.

The US Sailing Team is not represented at French Olympic Sailing Week in the Finn, Laser Radial or Star classes.

Team AlphaGraphics website