Achievements in one-design sailing recognized

by Jake Fish on 18 Jan 2013 This past Saturday night at US Sailing’s 2013 One-Design Sailing Symposium, presented by Gowrie Group and hosted by the Cleveland Yachting Club in Rocky River, Ohio, five awards were presented to recognize outstanding individual and organizational achievements in one-design sailing. These annual award categories are for Service, Leadership, Club, Regatta, and Creativity. These awards highlight role models of creative leadership in one-design sailing.

Fletcher Driscoll (Saint Paul, Minn.) received the John H. Gardiner, Jr. Trophy for Service award. Driscoll is responsible for the tremendous resurgence of the A Scow class on White Bear Lake over the past decade. His restoration of a classic fleet got more people involved in sailing, especially women. Driscoll was instrumental in building one of the largest A Scow fleets in the world.

Mike Martin (Mill Valley, Calif.) was the recipient of the Creativity Award for his contributions in the development of the new electronic umpiring system used in the America’s Cup World Series. This innovative system uses positional data displayed in real-time to enhance the accuracy of race officiating, improving the performances of the Umpires and sailors. This technology is now positively influencing other sailing events around the world.

Kathleen Tocke (Newport, R.I.) won the Leadership Award for her efforts in the development of the Miami Snipe Invitational. The event was a huge success in attracting new sailors 30 years and under to the Snipe class, while providing quality instruction in a fun, exciting atmosphere.

The Bayview Yacht Club (Detroit, Mich.) won the Regatta Award for the first annual Bayview One-Design Regatta they held last summer. The new regatta replaced a longstanding event with fresh ideas including options for classes to choose between a two or three day event, addition of a dinghy circle, lowered entry fees, discounted food and drink specials, and improved shore-side activities. They increased participation by over 100 boats from the previous year’s event.

The Pewaukee Yacht Club (Pewaukee, Wis.) received the Club Award for the display of administrative excellence, fleet growth, creative programming, regatta support and member contributions. The club hosted eight events this past season, including the A Scow National Championship and US Sailing’s Championship of Champions. The PYC was successful in running these first class regattas, largely due to the high level of volunteers they utilized in various roles. The club’s members often sacrificed their own racing to provide other local and national sailors with top notch US Sailing website