FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Christie Kirchner, Chicago Yacht Club, 312-861-7772
Cynthia Goss, US SAILING, 203-453-2731
Top-Ranked Disabled Sailors Head to Chicago to Compete at U.S. Independence Cup/North American Challenge Cup
Chicago, Ill. (July 25, 2007) – Forty top-ranked disabled sailors from
throughout the United States will head to Chicago in early August to compete
in the annual U.S. Independence Cup/North American Challenge Cup (IC/NACC), a
three-day US SAILING National Championship that showcases the best of disabled
sailing. This year, the showcase becomes even stronger: with the addition of
the three-person Sonar, the event now includes two of the three classes to be
sailed in the 2008 Paralympic Games in China. Heading to the starting line are
half of the members of the 2007 US Disabled Sailing Team (USDST), the
top-ranked disabled sailors who represent the United States' most promising
Paralympic hopefuls.
Hosted August 2-6 at Chicago Yacht Club's Belmont Station, the regatta is
sponsored nationally by Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard, American
Airlines, and Hyatt Hotels. The three-day regatta held in Sonars, 2.4 Metres,
and Freedom Independence 20s will be preceded by an on-the-water racing clinic
taught by world-class sailor and US Disabled Sailing Team Coach Betsy Alison
and Amanda Callahan, a past winner of the U.S. Team Racing Championship.
Competitors in the Freedom Independence 20 fleet will face a formidable
competitor in the team of Karen Mitchell (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and JP
Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Mitchell is a four-time consecutive champion
at this regatta. A member of the 2007 USDST, she will be back on the starting
line to vie for another class win and work toward a longer-term goal: to
become the first woman to represent the United States at the Paralympic Games.
At the IC/NACC, two-person crews will compete in specially outfitted 20-foot
Freedom Independence boats, each of which will also be co-manned by a
non-competing able-bodied volunteer, to help ensure the safety of all
participants. For the Paralympic Games, Mitchell and Creignou are campaigning
in the SKUD-18, the doublehanded class to be raced in the 2008 Games.
USDST member John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wisc.) came close to a 2.4mR class win at the
2006 IC/NACC, losing first place on a tie-breaker to fellow USDST member Roger
Cleworth (Lithia, Fla.). Ruf and Cleworth, who moves into the Sonar for this
year’s event, traded bullets last year to end with only 16 points each in the
12-race series. Ruf returns this year to face a national field of 2.4mR
sailors from East Coast, West Coast, and Great Lakes ports. The 2.4mR is the
singlehanded boat chosen for the 2008 Paralympic Games.
USDST members David Schroeder (Miami, Fla.), Keith Burhans (Rochester, N.Y.),
and John Pucillo (Andrews AFB, Md.) will vie for a class win in the
three-person Sonar, the third class to be sailed in the 2008 Paralympic Games.
But this crew will be facing some tough contenders in the six-boat fleet,
including Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla.), a longtime frontrunner in the
Sonar class who represented the United States at the 2000 Paralympic Games.
Callahan will be sailing with Cleworth and Tom Brown (Northeast Harbor,
Maine).
As national sponsors of the event, Rolex Watch U.S.A., Dry Creek Vineyard,
American Airlines, and Hyatt Hotels play a vital role at this US SAILING
National Championship. The support of corporate supporters is critical to the
success of the IC/NACC regatta, for the logistics involved in traveling to and
participating in the event can be both physically and financially daunting.
Corporate partners provide the generous support needed so participants can
concentrate on the tough competition they will face on the water.
To follow the action at the U.S. Independence Cup/North American Challenge Cup
during the regatta, visit the event website at
www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usic. The regatta is part of US
SAILING’s National Championships series; for more information about these
championships, visit
www.ussailing.org/championships.
About Chicago Yacht Club
Founded in 1875 with the goal of advancing the community’s knowledge,
enjoyment, and participation in boating and the nautical arts, the Chicago
Yacht Club is one of the oldest and most prestigious sporting organizations in
the nation and remains a valuable resource for its members and for the Chicago
area as a whole. The club has been a leader for more than 75 years in teaching
children and adults how to sail and is a preeminent organizer and host of
regattas, races, and predicted log contests in the United States.
About US SAILING and the USDST
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. Managed by US SAILING, the US Disabled Sailing Team was
created in 1998 to develop and prepare the team that represents the United
States at the Paralympic Games.
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