US Sailing awards to Burhans, Hobbs, St Petersburg

by Marlieke Eaton on 27 Oct 2007 US Sailing, the national governing body of USA sailing has awarded its top awards of the Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy for Contribution to Disabled Sailing to Keith Burhans, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, to Bob Hobbs, and the National Trophy for Excellence in Race Management, to St Petersburg YC.

Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy for Contribution to Disabled Sailing
The Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy annually recognises outstanding service, over a significant period of time, to disabled sailing and disabled sailors in the United States.

Keith Burhans (Rochester, N.Y.) is not only an accomplished disabled sailor himself, he is a leader and an innovator with a unique ability to foster connections among groups and to help individuals to reach their potential as sailors.

Burhans first became involved in disabled sailing when he competed in his first disabled regatta in 1997, the U.S. Independence Cup. He soon climbed the ranks and qualified to compete in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia, where his Sonar team finished seventh. Over the years, he has been a regular at regattas, not only as a competitor, but also as a dedicated volunteer. He has used his considerable knowledge of the sport of sailing as well as of disabled sailing to develop a breakthrough adaptive seating, transfer and steering system. His innovation has since empowered numerous quadriplegics and other severely disabled sailors to compete effectively in the Sonar class.

The countless events Burhans has been involved in over the years are too many to list here, but most recently, he co-chaired the 2007 International Federation for Disabled Sailing's World Disabled Sailing Championship in Rochester, hosting a record 162 disabled competitors from 27 countries. Burhans has inspired many by being active in many leadership roles. For example, he serves on the Community Board of SportsNet for Disabled Athletes, the Board of the Rochester Rehabilitation Center and the Board of the Rochester, New York Yacht Club. He also serves as a Class Representative to US Sailing's Olympic Sailing Committee.

Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy
This trophy is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in USA. This year it went to Bob Hobbs (East Hartford, Conn.) for his outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the U.S. over many years.

Hobbs was presented with the Trophy to a standing ovation.

Hobbs' involvement with US Sailing spans over three decades, during which he held various volunteer positions, including president (1991-'94), Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman (1996-2000), US Sailing Foundation President and Trustee, Chairman of the Inshore Committee, Training Committee member, and many more.

It's not only Hobbs's extensive US Sailing involvement that has earned him this prestigious award. Since he first learned to sail while a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hobbs has made sailing a part of his life. Before becoming involved with USA Sailing, he was a major force at the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA). He served as a Judge at the ICSA National Championship for 26 consecutive years and was that organisation's Executive Vice President for nearly a decade.

National Trophy For Excellence in Race Management
The St. Petersburg Yacht Club (SPYC) was selected from a list of 13 nominated sailing organizations for outstanding organisation and execution of the 2007 Winter Lightning Championship held last March in which 73 boats competed. The Trophy was presented to Bob Birkenstock, Event Manager of SPYC, by US Sailing's Race Management Committee Chair Robin Wallace earlier this evening during an awards dinner at US Sailing's Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. Principal Race Officer (PRO) Tom Farquhar was unable to attend. This is the fourth time that an event where Farquhar was PRO won the award.

Emblematic of excellence in race management, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy was awarded originally by St. Petersburg Yacht Club in the late 1960s to recognize the club that ran the best regatta. The trophy was retired for several years until it was donated to US Sailing in 1977. The winner is selected on the basis of race management superiority and evaluation by participating skippers.

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