700 Youth Sailors to Invade Coconut Grove Next Week for Orange Bowl Regatta
33rd annual sailing event sets new record for number of participants

Posted Monday, December 21, 2009

 
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PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (December 14, 2009) – Another impressive turnout rate is expected for this year’s USA Junior Olympic (JO) Sailing season finale in Miami, Fla. The 33rd annual Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta, hosted collaboratively by the US Sailing Center (Miami, Fla.), Coral Reef Yacht Club, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, and Lauderdale Yacht Club, takes place on December 27-30. Over 700 junior sailors from 20 countries, as well as 28 U.S. states and territories will convene for the Orange Bowl Regatta, the largest youth sailing regatta in the country. Registration for this event closes on Tuesday, December 15. To register now, please visit the event website at http://www.coralreefyachtclub.org/index.cfm?menu=7560.

Junior Olympic Sailing events are a cooperative program of US SAILING and the U.S. Olympic Committee with the purpose of broadening the base of youth sailing in the United States. The event is the largest of 25 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festivals. The regatta includes four days of competition on Biscayne Bay, featuring fleet racing on four courses for Club 420, International 420, Laser, Laser Radial, Laser 4.7 and Optimist classes. Over 130 generous volunteers will be on-site contributing to this event.

Several former U.S. Olympic medalists will be on-hand to present awards, including James Barton, Kevin Burnham, Magnus Liljedahl and current US Sailing Team AlphaGraphic members, Zach Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe. Trophies will be awarded to the top five or ten sailors in each fleet, depending upon fleet size. Each Optimist Green Fleet sailor will receive a USA Junior Olympic medal or certificate. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Magnus Liljedahl, will present the Orange Bowl Regatta Sportsmanship Trophy to a sailor who exemplifies sportsmanship at the event.

On “College Night” (Dec. 28), 25 college and university sailing coaches will speak to competing high school sailors about college sailing, and details about their respective college sailing programs.

Junior Olympic Sailing is sponsored by West Marine, Gill, Bull Frog, and Active.com. For more information about US SAILING’s JO program, please visit http://racing.ussailing.org/Categories/Junior_Olympics.htm or contact US SAILING Inshore Director, Lee Parks at 401-683-0800 or via e-mail at juniorolympics@ussailing.org. Video highlights from the Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta will be made available by Sailgroove at http://www.sailgroove.org/.

About US SAILING Junior Olympics
US SAILING's Junior Olympic Sailing Program is a nationwide series of sailing regattas for youth ages 8 to 21. Each event in this family of regattas is hosted by a different club or organization, but all events share a common goal: to encourage young sailors to enjoy sailing and to develop their skill. Events mix Olympic-style competition with elements of learning and fun for all levels--from beginning racers to those with Olympic aspirations. In 2010, 25 events are planned for waters in the continental United States and Hawaii and over 4,000 sailors are expected to compete. Junior Olympic Sailing is coordinated by US SAILING and sponsored by West Marine, Gill, Hobie sunglasses, and Active.com in 2010.

About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. 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 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.