USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival Schedule 08

by Marlieke de Lange Eaton on 1 Apr 2008 US SAILING, national governing body for the sport of sailing, has announced its schedule for the 2008 USA Junior Olympic Sailing (JO) Festival program, a nationwide series of regattas designed to promote the enjoyment of sailing and development of skills to young sailors as well as to provide an Olympic pathway for talented junior sailors. Approximately 4,000 young sailors are expected to participate in 21 JO events held in 15 states between June and December. The list of one-design classes used in the program includes Optimists, Lasers, Bytes, Sunfish, El Toros, Club 420s, CFJs, and 29ers, as well as several windsurfing classes.

Encouraging young sailors onto the starting line for a lifelong involvement in the sport of sailing is the objective of the JO program. Since the inception of the program in 1997, more than 35,000 emerging sailors between the ages of 8-21 have benefited from participation in over 200 events hosted by numerous clubs and organizations throughout the continental United States and Hawaii. Each event is unique in that it offers various levels of competition, skill building and fun activities, however, all share the common goals of drawing young sailors to the sport and promoting the development of skills. Over the past twelve years, hundreds of aspiring sailors have been motivated to pursue their Olympic dreams as a result of competing in US SAILING's Junior Olympic Sailing Festival.

The 'Orange Bowl,' a mainstay on the JO schedule and held annually in Miami, is historically the largest JO event and typically hosts over 600 junior sailors from across the U.S. and internationally in its competition in the midst of the December holiday season.

Demonstrating their support for the development of youth sailing, the 2008 JO program is sponsored by West Marine, Gill, and Active.com.

See below for the 2008 JO schedule or visit: www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jo/calendar.asp?KEYWORD=Junior+Olympic.

For more information about JO program, please visit www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jo or contact US SAILING Inshore Director, Lee Parks at 401-683-0800 or via e-mail at juniorolympics@ussailing.org.

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the United States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.

2008 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Schedule

June 20-22 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Upper Midwest
Lake Forest, Ill.
Joey Harris - joeysail@yahoo.com
www.cityoflakeforest.com/cs/rec/cs_rec2d16.htm

June 20-22 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Midwest
Lake St Louis SC, St. Louis, Mo.
Pearson Buell - pearsonbuell@centurytel.net
www.lakestlouissailing.com

June 21-22 USA Junior Olympic Windsurfing Festival
Calema Windsurfing School, Merritt Island, Fla.
Susie Dornellas - susie@calema.com
www.calema.com

July 4-6 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Bayview Riverfest
Bayview Yacht Club, Detroit, Mich.
Marc Hollerbach - mhollerbach@southoakland.com
www.bayviewriverfest.com

July 4-6 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Gulf Coast
Pensacola Yacht Club, Fla.
Linda Thompson - linda.thompson@mchsi.com
www.pensacolayachtclub.org

July 7-11 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Hawaii
Hawaii & Waikiki Yacht Clubs, Honolulu, HI
Guy Fleming - guynsyd@hawaii.rr.com
www.hawaiiyachtclub.org

July 8 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Larry White Youth Regatta
Niantic Bay Yacht Club, Niantic, Conn.
Jim Gardner - gardnjg@snet.net
www.nbyc.org

July 10-13 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Southern California
California Yacht Club, Marina del Rey, Calif.
Rick Turner - rturner148@earthlink.net
www.calyachtclub.com

July 10-16 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Texas Youth Race Week
Texas Corinthian, Lakewood & Houston Yacht Clubs, TX
Margie Crawford - marjoriecrawford@comcast.net
www.texasyouthraceweek.com

July 12-13 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Chesapeake Bay
Hampton Yacht Club, Va.
Dave Herring - dherring954@cox.net
http://www.hamptonyc.com/jobo/junior_olympics.htm

July 17-18 USA Junior Olympic Windsurfing Festival - East Coast Junior Windsurfing Championship
Vineyard Haven Yacht Club, Mass.
Nevin Sayre - Nsayre@aol.com
www.vhyc.org

July 26-27 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Northern California
Sequoia Yacht Club, Redwood City, Calif.
Eric Anderson - hiker4u@aol.com
www.bayarea-youthsailing.com

July 28-29 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Mid-Atlantic
Island Heights Yacht Club, N.J.
Buzz Reynolds - jreynolds345@comcast.net
http://www.ihyc.com/JrOlympicsFramePage.htm

Aug 1-3 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Rochester
Rochester Yacht Club, N.Y.
Natalie Steo - jsesys@frontiernet.net
www.rochesteryc.com

Aug 11-13 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Mass Bay Sailing Youth Regatta
Sandy Bay Yacht Club, Rockport, Mass.
Charlie Clark - chclark@shore.net
www.sandybay.org

Aug 11-14 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Narragansett Bay Jr. Race Week
Bristol Town Beach & Colt State Park, Bristol, R.I.
Roger Carney - roger.carney@nbya.org
www.nbya.org

Aug 22-24 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Northwest Youth Sailing Championship
Matthews Beach Park, Lake Washington, Seattle, Wash.
Brian Ledbetter - brianl@seattleyachtclub.org
www.seattleyachtclub.org

Oct 11-12 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Michigan
Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, Holland, Mich.
Steve Sisson - steves@karonadoor.com
www.mbja.org

Oct 18-19 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - River Romp Regatta
Edison Sailing Center, Fort Myers, Fla.
Stephanie Webb - stephanietwebb@comcast.net
www.edisonsailingcenter.org

Dec 6-7 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival
US Sailing Center of Martin County, Jensen Beach, Fla.
Peter Strong - peter@usscmc.org
www.usscmc.org

Dec 27-30 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta
US Sailing Center & Coral Reef Yacht Club, Miami, Fla.
Bill Scheuermann - obregatta@gmail.com
www.coralreefyachtclub.org/index.cfm?menu=7560