US Sailing’s 2012 Youth Worlds Team travelling to Ireland

by US Sailing on 12 Jul 2012 US Sailing’s 2012 Youth Worlds Team will travel to Dublin, Ireland this week to compete in the 2012 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Championships. Scheduled for July 12-21.

An important stop in the journey of an Olympic-hopeful, ISAF Youth Worlds alumni include 2008 Olympian and Youth World champion (’02) in the Laser Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athlete, 2012 Olympic Team member and two-time Youth World champion (’03, ’05) in the Laser Radial Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.).

'It was such an honor to represent the USA at a young age! I was so excited to compete against foreign athletes and to see what other countries had to offer with their athletes,' 'I remember being extremely nervous my first Youth Worlds. I was sailing around the race course saying, ‘Oh my gosh, there are so many countries here…Oh man, I am so nervous!’ I was like ‘what country is that?’ But then I said ‘whatever, I am Paige Railey from the USA and I am here to represent!’'

Competing at an early age instilled important lessons into Railey. 'It taught me to deal with pressure,' she said. 'I learned to sail in small fleets with lots of media pressure. It was difficult to qualify for the event (similar to the Trials for the Olympics), and then all of the pressure to perform is placed upon you. It taught me to keep things in perspective. I compete because I love it. I am here to show everyone what I have been working on, and I will believe in myself and never give up!'

Railey also added her advice to this year’s competitors: 'Have fun and enjoy the Youth Worlds experience. You can learn so much and meet people who you will be competing against in the future. But remember this, stay confident, believe in yourself and always think I can!'

US Sailing’s 2012 Youth Worlds Team:
Laser Radial (boy’s one person dinghy): Mitchell Kiss (Holland, Mich.)
Laser Radial (girl’s one person dinghy): Nikki Medley (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
International 420s (boy’s two person dinghy): Harry Koeppel (Mamroneck, N.Y.) and Charles Bocklet (Waccubuc, N.Y.)
International 420s (girl’s two person dinghy): Magan Grapengeter-Rudnick (Darien, Conn.) and Abigail Rohman (Larchmont, N.Y.)
29er (open high performance dinghy): Quinn Wilson (Ojai, Calif.) and Dane Wilson (Ojai Calif.)
RS: X Boys: Lucas Gonzalez (Miami, Fla.)
RS: X Girls: Margo Samson (Belleair, Fla.)
Multihull: Jeremy Herrin (Sarasota, Fla.) and Sam Armington (Sarasota, Fla.)

World Championship in Dublin, Ireland website