U.S. Junior Womens Doublehanded Championship - Preview

The Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in Corona del Mar, Calif. will host the 2013 U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy, beginning next Tuesday, June 25 through Thursday, June 27.

Thirty-nine talented young doublehanded teams will test their skills against each other in Club 420's at this US Sailing National Championship. The young women competing next week range between the ages of 13 and 18. This year's championship features sailors representing 13 U.S. states, including 45 from California.

Racing is just part of the overall experience in Newport Beach next week. There will be valuable learning opportunities and coaching through a two-day clinic that precedes racing on Sunday, June 23 and Monday, June 24. US Sailing's Junior National Coach Rich Feeny will be running sailing instruction clinics on-site. The clinic will familiarize the competitors with the local conditions and race course.

Returning to compete in their fourth consecutive U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship as a team is Carolyn Smith (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Bayley Davidson (Costa Mesa, Calif.), who were last year's Runner-ups. Smith and Davidson finished just one point behind the winning team in the 2012 event on Lake Minnetonka (Minn.).

Mimi Paz (Marina del Ray, Calif.) and Sydney Avitia-Jacques (Marina del Ray, Calif.) will also be in the hunt for the Ida Lewis Trophy after finishing sixth last year. They won the CFJ division at the 2012 CISA Championship Regatta.

Elena VandenBerg (Annapolis, Md.) and Lilla Salvesen (Edgewater, Md.) had a promising 2012. They finished as the top junior women's team in the Club 420 fleet at the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta. They hope to carry this momentum into 2013 and contend for the championship next week in Newport Beach.

In February, Taylor Ladd (St. Thomas, USVI) finished as the fourth best junior women's skipper at the C420 Midwinters in Jensen Beach, Fla. Earlier this spring, she also helped lead the Antilles School to their first-ever High School Doublehanded National Championship in Chicago. Ladd will sail this week with crew Katherine Jones (Lake Forest, Ill.).

In addition to on-the-water activities, Olympic Silver (2000) and Bronze (1992) medalist in the Women's 470, J.J. Fetter will deliver a US Sailing Olympic Pathways Presentation on Tuesday, June 25. Keynote speaker Katie Pettibone, a veteran America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread Around the World Race yachtswoman, will address the participating sailors with inspirational stories and fascinating accounts of her sailing experiences. Pettibone crewed last weekend for the winning team at the 2013 U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship in Chicago.

This year's event is hosted by award-winning BCYC, whose members have spent two years planning everything from the teams' accommodations to premiere level race management. Competition will take place in the vicinity of Newport and Balboa Piers. Spectator boats are available from the club with advance reservation (tel. 949-644-9530), or watch from the beach or wharf adjacent 21st Street on the Balboa Peninsula, starting around noon daily.

Ten races are scheduled and three races are required to be completed to constitute a series. When fewer than six races have been completed, a boat's series score will be the total of her race scores. When six or more races have been completed, a boat's series score will be the total of her race scores excluding her worst score.

The winning skipper and crew of the event will be presented the Ida Lewis Trophy (perpetual). US Sailing National Championship medals will be awarded to competitors who finish first through fifth. The C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Sportsmanship Award will be presented to a team following the results of a secret ballot.

For results, standings, photos and more information on the 2013 U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship, please visit the event website at championships.ussailing.org/Youth/USJrWomensDoublehanded.

For breaking news and race results from Corona del Mar, follow us on Twitter @USSailing. Use Twitter hashtag #JWDC13 to participate in the conversation throughout the championship.

The U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championships sponsored by Gill North America and Zim Sailing, and is supported by the C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Trust. This championship is a Sailors for the Sea - Clean Regattas certificated event.