Pictured: 2014 Golden Spinnaker Regatta and Gala, hosted by SFNY at NYYC (Newport, R.I, September 27, 2014)
December 1, 2014
Portsmouth, R.I – Renewing a longstanding tradition of support, the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) and the Sailing Foundation of New York (SFNY) were recognized today as US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider Gold Medal Partners. In doing so, NYYC and SFNY have reaffirmed their leadership roles in fostering high-performance Olympic and Paralympic sailing in the United States. Gold Medal Partner Club status is reserved for organizations that support the team with contributions of $100,000 or more. In late September 2014, SFNY organized the Golden Spinnaker Regatta and Gala fundraising event, which was hosted by NYYC and succeeded in raising over $175,000 in athlete support funding.
“The New York Yacht Club and The Sailing Foundation of New York have been consistent, enthusiastic and generous benefactors of US Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. “We are grateful for their gold-level contributions to the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, which will help us achieve success at Rio 2016 and beyond.”
“The young sailors on the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider represent the best and the brightest sailing talent in the United States, and they deserve every dollar of support we can provide,” said Dean Brenner, SFNY President. “The Board of Directors of the Sailing Foundation of New York are proud to do our part, and we call on other clubs and foundations to find ways to provide whatever support for the team they can muster.”
For SFNY, this new commitment follows a 2013 contribution of $50,000 to the pathway development plans of the US Olympic Sailing Program, and the organization’s total support of the last three Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams now exceeds $950,000.
New York Yacht Club has a long history of support and involvement in US Olympic and Paralympic Sailing. It’s membership roster is packed with former Games athletes, such as Paul Callahan, Anna Tunnicliffe, Amanda Clark, Trevor Moore and Erik Storck, who all competed at London 2012.
“The New York Yacht Club and the Sailing Foundation of New York are proud to support the athletes of the U.S. Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider,” said George R. Hinman Jr., Commodore of NYYC from 2005-’06. “Giving back to the sport of sailing is something that is very important to the members of the NYYC. There is no better way than by supporting those sailors who aspire to represent our country in the Olympic Games.”
Since 2005, US Sailing’s Medalist and Yacht Club Partner programs have raised over $6 million of support for the US Sailing Team Sperry-Top Sider. For more information about the Club Partner Program, please visit US Sailing’s website: https://www.ussailing.org/olympics/support-and-sponsorship/
About Sailing Foundation of New York
About Sailing Foundation of New York The Sailing Foundation of New York was founded in 2003 by New York Yacht Club Commodore George Isdale Jr., and has been led for the last 10 years by Tom Stark. Since its founding, SFNY has raised more than $4 million to support the sport of sailing.
About New York Yacht Club
The New York Yacht Club was founded in 1844 when nine New York yachtsmen met on board John Cox Stevens’ yacht, and a year later its original clubhouse was built in Hoboken, N.J. The Club was the keeper of the America’s Cup from 1851 to 1983, and organized the first transatlantic race in 1866. The New York Yacht Club is one of four clubs organizing the Transatlantic Race 2015, which will start from Newport, R.I., in early summer. The biennial New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex is one of sailing’s most prestigious Corinthian competitions, and will be sailed in September 2015. The Club maintains historic club houses on West 44th Street in Manhattan and at Harbour Court, in Newport, R.I. www.nyyc.org
About the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
The US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. US Sailing helps these elite athletes with with financial, logistical, coaching, technical, fitness, marketing and communications support. The title sponsor of the team is Sperry Top-Sider; other sponsors include Harken, Team McLube and Groupe Beneteau. Yale Cordage is a team supplier. The US Sailing Center Miami is an Olympic training site. Oakcliff Sailing and Clearwater Community Sailing Center are US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider training centers. Chubb Personal Insurance sponsors US Sailing’s National Team Tour, a nationwide presentation program for US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider athletes.
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth 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 Sperry Top-Sider. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org
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Press Contact: Will Ricketson, Olympic Communications Manager, US Sailing. willricketson@ussailing.org, +1 (978) 697-2384.