College Sailing semi-finals set to begin

by Jennifer Mitchell on 26 Apr 2013 Hampton and Old Dominion Universities are co-hosting the 2013 Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s Semi-finals at Hampton University and Hampton Yacht Club. The regatta this weekend, April 27 – 28, marks the first time that Hampton University, a historically black university, has hosted an event of this size related to a college sailing national event.

Accomplished sailor and coach, Gary Bodie, started the sailing program at Hampton and will return to be the principal race officer for the 2013 Semi-finals. More than 140 sailors will compete in the two-day event. This regatta kicks off the highly anticipated ICSA Spring National Championship series of regattas, which begin at the end of May.

The regatta is divided into two fleets, Eastern and Western, each comprised of a mix of the top 18 schools in the country, representative of the seven collegiate sailing conferences in the nation: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Pacific Coast and Northwest. The top nine schools in each fleet will qualify for the Gill/ICSA Coed National Championship Finals in St. Petersburg, Fla. The final team in each fleet to qualify will be awarded the U.S. Sailing GRIT Award.

Eastern fleet: U.S. Naval Academy, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, New York Maritime Academy, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, Brown University, Roger Williams University, Dartmouth College, Connecticut College, University of Washington, Stanford University, University of California Santa Barbara, University of South Florida, Eckerd College, University of Miami, Texas A&M University at Galveston.

Western fleet: Georgetown University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Fordham University, University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Notre Dame University, Boston College, Tufts University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Western Washington University, University of Hawaii, College of Charleston, University of Florida, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M University, Tulane University.

Eighteen races are scheduled in A and B divisions of each semi-final fleet. The Eastern fleet will sail Old Dominion’s FJs launched from Hampton Yacht Club and the Western fleet will sail Hampton’s FJs launched from Hampton University. Racing will be held at Strawberry Banks near the mouth of Hampton River. The teams will report at 8 a.m. on Saturday and racing is planned to start at 10 a.m.

For additional regatta information, competitors and live results visit the event website. Follow the action live on Livestream.

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit College Sailing to learn more.