13 U.S. sailors named to 2016 Youth World Championship Team

by Will Ricketson on 21 Oct 2016 US Sailing has named 13 athletes to its 2016 Youth Sailing World Championship Team. The premier youth event in international sailing, the Youth Worlds is expected to include competitors from over 70 nations. The event is set to be held in Auckland, New Zealand from December 14-20.

“A talented and competitive American team has been selected for the 2016 Youth Worlds,” said Leandro Spina, US Sailing’s Youth Development Director. “It takes hard work to develop the skills needed to reach this level, and US Sailing’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) will assist with preparations as we get closer to the event. We are excited to name our team, and to help them deliver a peak performance in Auckland.”

US Sailing’s 2016 Youth World Championship Team:

• Laser Radial (girl’s one person dinghy): Sophia Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Laser Radial (boy’s one person dinghy): Carrson Pearce (Manahawkin, N.J.)
• International 420 (girl’s two person dinghy): Kathryn Hall (Haverford, Penn.) and Ashton Borcherding (Greenwich, Conn.)
• International 420 (boy’s two person dinghy): Wiley Rogers (Houston, Texas) and Jack Parkin (Riverside, Conn.)
• 29er (girl’s high performance dinghy): Louisa Nordstrom (Osprey, Fla.) and Catherine Mollerus (Larchmont, N.Y.)
• 29er (boy’s high performance dinghy): Ryan Ratliffe (San Diego, Calif.) and Sam Merson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
• RS:X (girl’s windsurfer): No Selection
• RS:X (boy’s windsurfer): Geronimo Nores (Miami Beach, Fla.)
• Nacra 15 (open multihull): Romaine Screve (Kentfield, Calif.) and Ian Brill (San Diego, Calif.)

*Note: No female US RS:X sailor qualified for the 2016 Youth Worlds Team

Several 2016 Youth Worlds Team sailors have worked with the ODP prior to their selection, and their campaign for Auckland represents a natural extension of their previous training. “US Sailing fully supports the Youth Worlds as an event, and we encourage all dedicated young sailors to try to qualify for, and medal at, this regatta,” said Spina. “The ODP staff have been in contact will all of our sailors, and we plan to have a dedicated Youth Worlds training camp in Miami in a few weeks. ODP staff will work closely with each athlete, as well as several of their individual coaches, to works towards our goals. This camp, and the Youth Worlds itself, will help us finish a strong second year of operation for the ODP.”

Spina will serve as Head Coach of the team in Auckland, and will be joined by Rio 2016 U.S. Olympic Sailing Team coach Willie McBride (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Two-time US Sailing National Development Coach of the Year Steve Keen (Stamford, Conn.) rounds out the team’s world-class coaching staff.

For more information about selection process for US Sailing’s 2016 Youth Worlds Team, visit US Sailing website.

More information about the 2016 Youth Worlds, visit the event website.