Stacked Leaderboard at U.S. Championship of Champions

Columbia, SC (October 26, 2013) – The 20 teams competing at US Sailing’s Championship of Champions managed to finish five more races on Saturday following a lengthy delay this morning, due to lack of wind on Lake Murray. Through 14 races, multiple teams remain in contention as the top three teams are within five points of each other. The Lightning fleet heads into the regatta’s final set of races Sunday morning.

Friday’s leader and special guest competitor, Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.) closed out Saturday’s racing with a statement win in Race 14 to keep her team in contention. Alison, who is sailing with Will and Laura Jeffers (Tarpon Springs, Fla.), lost her one-point lead and trails new front runner Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) by five points. Keane was the most consistent helmsman of the day. He is sailing with Steve Hunt (San Diego, Calif.) and Victor Diaz De Leon.

Moving up into contention today was 2009 Championship of Champions winner, Skip Dieball (Toledo, Ohio). Dieball and crew Tom Starck (Avon Lake, Ohio) and Abby Freeman (Vermilion, Ohio) won back-to-back races today and are just two points behind Keane.

Today’s conditions were challenging. They started off this morning in light winds out of the east at 3 to 5 knots. The lake filled in with wind at around 2:00 p.m. The shifty winds were 4 to 6 knots out of the northwest. The sailors now have two throw-outs for the regatta with 14 races being completed.

Standings: Top 5 (out of 20 teams)
1. Brian Keane/Steve Hunt/Victor Diaz De Leon, 10-3-3-3-5-5-2-6-5/RDG-5-2-3-2-[11]- ; 54
2. Betsy Alison/Will Jeffers/Laura Jeffers, 7-1-7-5-1-2-6-3-5-7-[11]-8-4-1- ; 57
3. Skip Dieball/Tom Starck/Abby Freeman, 8-2-1-9-3-[21/OCS]-8-15-1-3-6-1-1-3- ; 61
4. David Starck/Jody Starck/Ian Jones, 4-5-5-2-[15]-10-1-2-2-13-3-6-3-9- ; 65
5. Lee Sackett/Tod Sackett/Mikey Gemperline, 6-[21/OCS]-8-1-11-3-5-9-8-1-1-7-6-5- ; 71

For a full roster, results, standings, photos and real-time Twitter updates from the course, please visit the event website.

US Sailing’s Championship of Champions is sponsored by Gill North America. This championship is a Sailors for the Sea – Clean Regattas certification event.

Championship Notes:
– One throw-out result will be applied when 8 to 13 races are completed; two throw-outs will be applied if more than 14 races are completed.
– Warning signal for first race of the day is 9:30 am.
– Limited spectator boats available. Check with registration desk at the Columbia Sailing Club.

Championship Personnel:
Event Chair: Jan Jernigan
Championship of Champions Chair: Paul Abdullah
US Sailing Championship Director: Liz Walker

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jake Fish, US Sailing Communications Manager, jakefish@ussailing.org, 401.683.0800 x614