US Team Ready for Pan Am Games

All fourteen members of the Toronto 2015 US Pan American Sailing Team have gathered on the shores of Lake Ontario as preparation continues for the Pan Am Games regatta, which starts on July 12 in Toronto, Ontario.

American sailors will compete in nine classes* at Toronto 2015, and have three returning medalists from the sailing competition at Guadalajara 2011. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) will look to add to her Pan Am Games medal haul, which includes a gold (2007) and bronze (2011). In the Snipe, Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y.) took home silver four years ago, and aim to finish one position better at this edition of the 64-year old quadrennial event.

“Toronto is clearly ready for this major competition,” said Josh Adams, the Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing and Team Leader for Toronto 2015. “Sailing should be a spotlight sport here, since the race courses are close to shore. Several of our athletes have been training here well in advance of the regatta. They have been familiarizing themselves with Lake Ontario, and we are all excited for racing to get underway.”

The US team features multiple athletes who are new to the Pan Am Games, such as the Lightning Class team of Justin Coplan (Nyack, N.Y.), Danielle Prior (Mechanicsburg, Penn.) and Caroline Patten (Barnegat Light, N.J.). “We’ve been training at the venue since Sunday, and we’ve also done a lot of additional work in the lead up to the event,” said Coplan, who along with Toronto 2015 crew Prior finished second overall at the most recent Lightning Class World Championship. “We’re pretty pumped on how we’re working as a team right now. The race course closest to land looks shifty and unpredictable, and we are still learning about the courses farther out into the lake. It’s a beautiful City, and we have a great view from the sailing venue at Royal Canadian Yacht

The USA Lightning readies for action before Toronto 2015.

Fellow Pan Am Games rookie and Sunfish sailor Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.) said he was a bit awestruck at the atmosphere surrounding the event. “It’s just cool, period.” said Blouin. “It’s my first time being at an event like this. Every piece of Toronto 2015 is geared towards making [athletes] successful. The city has really rolled out the red carpet, and it’s special to be a part of it.”

Two races are scheduled to be held each day in the Laser, Laser Radial, Sunfish, Snipe, Lightning and Hobie 16 classes. Three races per day will be held in RS:X Men, RS:X Women and 49erFX classes. The first races of the day are scheduled to start at 11:30AM local time. A medal race will be held for each class, which will count for double points.

Schedule:
Saturday, July 11: Practices Races
July 12-17: Qualifying Races
July 18-19: Medal Races
July 20: Reserve Day

Athletes must be American citizens to qualify for the US Pan American Sailing Team. Since sailing was included in the Pan American Games in 1955, the United States has won 78 medals in sailing: 33 gold, 27 silver and 18 bronze.

Toronto 2015 U.S. Pan American Sailing Team Roster:
RS:X Men: Carson Crain (Houston, Texas)
RS:X Women: Marion Lepert (Belmont, Calif.)
Laser Men: Charlie Buckingham (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Laser Radial Women: Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
49er FX: Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.)
Snipe: Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) and Kathleen Tocke (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Hobie 16: Mark Modderman (Long Branch, N.J.) and Grace Modderman (Rumson, N.J.)
Lightning: Justin Coplan (Nyack, N.Y.), Danielle Prior (Mechanicsburg, Penn.) and Caroline Patten (Barnegat Light, N.J.)
Sunfish: Conner Blouin (Tampa, Fla.)

Team Staff:
Team Leader: Josh Adams (Litchfield, Conn.)
Head Coach: Luther Carpenter (La Porte, Texas)
Coach: Mark Littlejohn (Brighton, U.K.)
Coach: Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.)
Assistant Team Leader: Meredith Brody (Newport, R.I.)
Press Officer: Will Ricketson (Newport, R.I.)
Physiotherapist: Kyle Krupa (Miami, Fla.)

*Note on the absence of a US J/24 team at Toronto 2015: The United States did not qualify for the Pan Am Games in the J/24 class.

Pan Am Games Media Guide:
Event Website: http://www.toronto2015.org
Team USA (All Sports) Microsite: TeamUSA.org/Toronto2015
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US Pan American Sailing Team Daily Updates: www.ussailing.org/olympics

About the Pan American Games
Held every four years in the year before the Olympic Games, the Pan American Games are the third largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. The history of the Pan American Games dates back to 1951 when the Games were first hosted by Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2015 Pan American Games mark the 17th celebration of the Pan American Sports Organization event. The U.S. has hosted the event twice, in Indianapolis in 1987 and Chicago in 1959.

Report by Will Ricketson.