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U.S. Junior women sailors gearing up
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| U.S. Youth Women`s Doublehanded Championship - U.S. Junior women sailors gearing up |
| PORTSMOUTH, RI, USA-(1-7-2003) Junior women sailors from across the
country are gearing up for the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship
for the coveted Ida Lewis Trophy which will be held July 5 though 11 and
hosted by the Windycrest Sailing Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sixty junior women
sailors (30 teams) have registered for the event, which will be sailed in
Club 420s and is sponsored by Vanguard Sailboats. This year’s event is a
qualifier for the 2004 Youth Sailing ISAF (International Sailing Federation)
World Championships in Gdynia, Poland.
The purpose of the U.S. Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship is to
encourage women’s sailing in the U.S. by providing an opportunity for junior
women sailors to compete at the national level. It is an open (no
pre-qualification required) doublehanded fleet racing competition for ages
13 to 18. The event was first raced in 1995 and became sanctioned by US
SAILING in 1996 as the doublehanded event for junior women sailors. Clinics
are held across the country in the months leading up to the event. Winners
of the 2002 event were Derby Anderson and Lucy Kupersmith (Annapolis, MD).
Born in the mid-1800s, Ida Lewis was 16 when she became the lighthouse
keeper of what was then Lime Rock Light in Newport, RI, after her father
could no longer perform the job. Renown for her skill in her wooden rowboat
in extreme conditions, Lewis is credited with 18 documented rescues and
performed her job as lighthouse keeper until 1911. The Ida Lewis Trophy is
a pewter representation of Lewis, heading from the lighthouse to her wooden
boat.
For more information about US SAILING’s National Championship series, visit
www.ussailing.org/championships or contact US SAILING’s championships
manager Lindy Christofersen at 401-683-0800.
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Source: Marlieke de Lange Eaton |
