2015 U.S. Team Racing Championship Preview

Annapolis, MD (September 23, 2015) – The ultimate show of teamwork in sailing will be on display this week at the 2015 U.S. Team Racing Championship, hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club. Former U.S. Team Racing Champions, collegiate All-Americans, new teams, and an impressive pool of sailors who have had success in various disciplines and racing backgrounds will compete in Annapolis Harbor for the esteemed George R. Hinman Trophy. This three-day event begins Friday, September 25 and concludes Sunday, September 27.

This premier team racing event in the United States is an invitational event. First held in 1981, the U.S. Team Racing Championship remains one of the hottest events in the country for collegiate and post-collegiate sailors. Interested teams applied by resume. The championship will be raced in three-boat/six-person teams (three skippers and three crews). Teams will be racing the Zim 15, a doublehanded, monohull dinghy designed by Steve Clark. The Zim 15 is very maneuverable which will make for some terrific team racing. This championship was contested in the Zim 15 last year in Marblehead, Mass.

Team racing is one of the most popular disciplines in sailing. Over 100 races are sailed in just a few days. Races, or flights, are shorter than traditional race courses. Three flights are racing simultaneously with teams swapping out after each race with each team wearing a unique identifying pinny or bib.

The intended format may be a single or multiple round robins of all teams. Teams may be split into groups for a preliminary round robin or ladder elimination format, potentially followed by a championship round robin or knock-out elimination. A digital “N” is the intended race course.

Event website – Competitor list

Report by Jake Fish, US Sailing.