Countdown to College Spring Nationals

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association’s (ICSA) three spring national championships will close out the school year of college competition when they are held May 22 through June 1 in Norfolk, VA. With each of the seven conferences in the USA hosting qualifiers, the top teams will now advance to compete in the LaserPerformance Club Flying Juniors (FJs) and Z420s.

The three events – Sperry College Sailing Women’s National Championship, LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race National Championship, and the Gill College Sailing National Championship – will be hosted by Old Dominion University at the ODU Sailing Center, with racing on the waters of the Elizabeth River.

“We are excited to be hosting these events,” says Mitch Brindley, head coach for Old Dominion University and ICSA president. “Our team is all in to do a great job and has been working to get the boats and facilities set up for the regattas.”

The last time that ODU hosted the Sperry Women’s event was in 2007 and the last time they hosted all three events was in 1985.

“In the past the Mid-Atlantic conference has divided the nationals events between venues, but I think it’s better for the events to all be in once place, so competitors don’t need to travel around,” says Brindley, “It may not be easiest on the host, but it’s best for the event.”

First up is the Sperry Women’s Championship where two 18-team fleets compete in the Semifinals on May 22-23. The top nine teams from each group will then advance to the Finals Round – an 18-boat regatta on May 24-25.

The LaserPerformance Team Race Nationals is next as 16 teams begin the first round on May 26 where a single round robin in FJs and Z420s will advance the top eight to a single championship round robin followed by a final four round robin, which will only be sailed in Z420s. This final round will determine the champion on May 28.

The finale is the Gill College Sailing National Championship where two 18-team fleets compete in the Semifinals on May 29-30. The top nine teams from each group will then advance to the Finals Round – an 18-boat regatta on May 31-June 1.

“We are ready to get started with the regattas,” says Brindley. “We expect to see all types of conditions throughout the regattas, including different wind directions, speeds, some sea breeze and a front or two over the course of the two weeks. Generally we have good college sailing conditions around 8 to 12 knots of wind.”

Live coverage from Dan Egan, of Degan Media, will be sponsored by US Sailing, during the National Championship events.

The coverage schedule is set to include May 25 for the final day of Sperry Women’s, May 27 and 28 for the final round of eight and final four of LaserPerformance Team Racing, May 30 for last day of Gill Dinghy Semifinals, and both days of Finals May 31 and June 1.

Follow the events live via the regatta app from US Sailing: details here.

Additional social media updates will be available throughout the events on the regatta website: http://2018nationals.collegesailing.org/

Background: The ICSA is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. There are seven Conferences that schedule and administer regattas within their established geographic regions, with ICSA hosting two national championships in the fall (singlehanded, match racing) and three national championships in the spring (team, women’s, coed). collegesailing.org

2018 Spring Nationals – Norfolk, VA
5/22-25 – Women’s National Championship
5/26-28 – Team Race National Championship
5/29-6/1 – Coed National Championship

Source: Jennifer Mitchell, Toile à Voile