U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship heads for Mission Bay

by Jake Fish on 17 Jul 2014 The Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego, Calif. will host the 2014 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship. Some 33 top young sailors will descend on Southern California this week for three days of racing, preceded by a two-day clinic, in Laser Radials that will decide who wins the Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy. This US Sailing National Championship is supported by the C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Trust. Racing begins this Friday, July 18 and concludes Sunday, July 20.

The top three boats will qualify for early acceptance to the 2015 U.S. Youth Championships, hosted by Eastern Yacht Club (Mass.), which is a qualifier for the 2015 ISAF Youth World Championships, provided they meet the eligibility criteria and submit an application.

This year’s list of competitors features a number of top returning sailors from last year’s championship and many newcomers who are up to the challenge. Five of the top nine sailors from last year’s championship are back, including runner-up Lindsay Baab (Saratoga, Calif.).

The U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship is an open event that offers tremendous opportunities, skill development focus, and outstanding competition in a fun, safe, high-quality racing environment.

US Sailing Junior National Coach Richard Feeny is running a two-day clinic that precedes racing on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, with a distinguished list of high school and college coaches, including, US Sailing Paralympic Coach Betsy Alison, US Coast Guard Academy Head Coach Brian Swingly, St. Petersburg Yacht Club Head Racing Coach Todd Fedyszyn, US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider member Allie Blecher, and former Quantum College Sailor of the Year Alana O’Reilly. These clinics will familiarize the competitors with the local conditions and race course. Our coaches will be on site providing instruction and guidance to the sailors for all three days of the championship.

The event annually brings first class hospitality to the competing sailors. On Wednesday, July 16, the San Diego Hall of Champions will host a dinner for the competing sailors.

Schedule and Venue

• First warning for racing is scheduled for 11:30 am PDT, Friday through Sunday.
• The regatta will be sailed on the Pacific Ocean across the street from Mission Bay Yacht Club approximately 1.0 NM offshore.

Racing Format

• Ten races are scheduled.
• Three races are required to be completed to constitute a series.
• When fewer than six races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores.
• When six or more races have been completed, a boat’s series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score.

Prizes

• US Sailing Championship medals will be awarded to competitors who finish first through fifth.
• Keeper trophies will be awarded to competitors finishing in the top three.
• The Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy is the perpetual trophy presented to the winner.
• The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Sportsmanship Prize will be awarded to a competitor based on the results of the competitors’ ballots.

Support of the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, as well as the clinics, is made possible by funds provided by the late C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. This support is intended to encourage young American women to enhance their sailing ability, with emphasis on sportsmanship, by providing the opportunity to compete in national-level competition with guidance from high-level coaching.

The U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship is sponsored by Gill North America. This Championship is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certificated US Sailing