US Sailing announces selection process for the US Sailing Team

by Dana Paxton on 27 Jan 2013 US Sailing has now announced the selection process for athletes to qualify for the 2013 US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, the national team comprised of the top Olympic and Paralympic class sailors. American sailors qualify for the team based upon their 2012 results or performance at 2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, scheduled for January 28-February 2. Selection in the Nacra 17 and SKUD-18 will take place at future events.

'With the beginning of a new four-year Olympic and Paralympic cycle, the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program now looks to chart a course toward the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,' said Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. 'The 2013 US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider is really the first look at which sailors we might see representing Team USA in four years.'

With the recent selection of the Nacra 17 multihull, the class is seeing a marked expansion in the U.S. In order for the U.S. teams to have enough time in the boat prior to US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider selection, the event to qualify will be the Nacra World Championship, scheduled for July 20-28 in The Hague, NED. The top two U.S. finishers will qualify for the 2013 US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. As there is not competition in the SKUD-18 at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, selection will take place at the 2013 C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta, scheduled for July 26-30, where the top two U.S. finishers will qualify.

For the US Sailing Development Team, one American sailor or team in each of nine Olympic classes will be selected at ISAF Sailing World Cup. Team members in the Nacra 17 will be selected at the World Olympic Classes Paralympic Classes US Sailing Development Team Selection

The ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami is the North American highlight on the winter circuit for sailors who are campaigning for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Organized by US Sailing, the event is the second stop on the 2012-13 International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) Sailing World Cup, an annual, world-class series for Olympic and Paralympic sailing.