2013 U.S. Team Racing Championship begins this week

Twelve of the top teams from the U.S. will compete for the esteemed George R. Hinman Trophy at the U.S. Team Racing Championship, hosted by the Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Calif.), this Friday through Sunday, October 4-6. Once again, this year’s roster boasts former U.S. Team Racing Champions, college All-Americans, and an impressive pool of sailors who have had success in various disciplines and racing backgrounds. For the first time in many years, this will be an all American event.

Team racing is one of the fastest growing disciplines in sailing. Over 100 races are sailed in just a few days. Each race or flight lasts under 30 minutes and normally, three flights are racing simultaneously with teams swapping out after each race. The intended format is a double round-robin followed by a knock-out series sailed between the eight teams who have recorded the highest number of wins during the round-robin series. The intended course is a digital “N”. Other courses may be used. The racing area will be located in the waters of Newport Harbor. Each six-person team consists of three skippers and three crews racing Club FJs provided by the Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Teams were selected to race based on team resumes.

One of the many contending teams will be the 2011 champions, Minor Threat, comprised of former ICSA All-Americans from Roger Williams and Georgetown. Four of the six sailors from the 2011 championship squad will be competing again this year, including skippers Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Cy Thompson (Barrington, R.I.), and crew Alexandra Taylor (Boston, Mass.) and Kelly Stannard (East Boston, Mass.). Alec Anderson (Tortola, BVI) and Tyler Wilson (Hopkinton, Mass.) have joined the team this year.

Ladies and Gentleman is another team filled with All-Americans and former U.S. Team Racing Champions that will factor in as a serious contender. The team includes skippers Justin Law (Newport Beach, Calif.), Michael Menninger (San Francisco, Calif.) and Tyler Sinks (San Diego, Calif.), and crew Adrienne Patterson (Miami, Fla.), Marla Menninger (San Francisco, Calif.) and Lucy Wallace (Middletown, R.I.).

Toby’s New Trick consists of three former College of Charleston skippers and their crews. They have 12 All-American award selections on the team. They are led by skippers Christopher Mace (Newport Beach, Calif.), Zeke Horowitz (Greenwich, Conn.) and Benjamin Spector (Charleston, S.C.), and crew Laura McKenna (Lake Forest, Ill.), Corinna DeCollibus (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and Alyssa Aitken (New York, N.Y.).

Check out the roster for a full list of teams competing in Newport Beach this week.

The winning team will be presented the George R. Hinman Trophy. US Sailing medals will be awarded to the top three placing teams.

For real-time Twitter updates, results, standings, video highlights by Chris Love, photos, and more information from the 2013 U.S. Team Racing Championship, please visit the event website.

The 2013 U.S. Team Racing Championship is sponsored by Gill North America, Hobie Polarized Sunglasses, and Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. This US Sailing National Championship is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certification event.

Championship Personnel:
Adam Deermount – Event Chairman
Scott Mason – Event Principal Race Officer
Jennifer Lancaster – NHYC Race Director
Liz Walker – Championships Director