College Women’s Nationals Begin Tuesday

The Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s (ICSA) spring nationals begins with the Sperry Women’s National Semi-Final and Final Championship for 36 teams in San Diego, CA. Racing in Club and Collegiate FJs is scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 24, at 10:30 am PT.

The spring nationals make a return to the west coast, having last been out west in 2009 when Stanford University, University of California Berkeley and St. Francis Yacht Club hosted the racing on San Francisco Bay.

The first two days of racing will be the Women’s Semi-Finals, which is divided into two 18-team regattas. These teams have qualified from the seven ICSA conferences, with the top nine teams from each group advancing to the Finals Round – an 18-boat regatta on May 26-27.

This is the first time that the Women’s Semi-Final event will include 36 boats, having expanded from the previous limit of 28 teams. Yale University will seek to defend their 2015 title, though the latest ranking poll sees them in fourth behind Coast Guard, University of Rhode Island, and Boston College.

Danielle Richards, event co-chair and ICSA Secretary, anticipates reliable conditions for the event. “This time of year is characterized by morning overcast skies and occasional drizzle which clears up by mid-day for sunny skies and a sea breeze from the west/north west. Winds will likely be between 5-13 knots building until late afternoon and then tapering back down.”

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Background: The Intercollegiate Sailing Association’s three spring national championships, Sperry Women’s National Semi-Final and Final Championship, LaserPerformance Team Race National Championship, and the Gill Coed Dinghy National Semi-Final and Final Championship will be held May 24-June 3, with schools racing Club and Collegiate FJs on San Diego Bay in San Diego, CA. The three events will be co-hosted by San Diego Yacht Club and the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference.