Building from the Bottom Up

Improving the USA prospects for Olympic sailing success is a bottom-up process, a process being orchestrated by US Sailing’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) as it supports American sailors competing at top international events this summer.

Four ODP Travel Teams have been organized which will compete at the Laser and Laser Radial U21 Worlds, the Laser Radial Youth Worlds, the Laser Radial Worlds (Open) and the recently-completed 49er Junior Worlds.

US Sailing’s ODP has named rosters of athletes for each event, who will receive world-class coaching and support as they seek to develop high-level skills, gain experience, and earn top results on the international stage.

“The ODP Travel Team concept has been in place for over two years now, and we’ve seen some impressive results from the U.S. sailors involved during that stretch,” said Leandro Spina (Miami, Fla.), US Sailing’s Olympic Development Director. “As is the case with the ODP training camps that we hold around the country each year, the focus with our travel teams is always on skill-building and on attaining overall improvement as athletes.”

ODP Travel Team action has already enjoyed a strong start, with Dane Wilson (Ojai, Calif.) and Scott Ewing (Miami, Fla.) taking second at the 49er Junior Worlds (June 29 – July 2) in Kingston, Canada. The next event will be the Laser U21 Worlds (July 26-August 2), which starts this week in Nieuwpoort, Belgium.

With the 2017 29er class World Championships set to be held in home waters in Long Beach, California next week, in place of a travel team the ODP will support all American sailors at the event with coaching on a broad scale.

US Sailing coaches including 2-time Olympic Champion and Chief of U.S. Olympic Sailing Malcolm Page (Newport, R.I), Leandro Spina, staff coach Willie McBride (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Rio 2016 Olympian Joe Morris (Annapolis, Md.) will work with key regional sailing programs and coaches to provide world-class support to a large and inclusive group of junior athletes, with the goal of increasing the overall level of the American contingent.

2017 ODP Travel Team Rosters:

49er Junior World Championship
June 29 – July 2, Kingston, Canada
• 49er: Dane Wilson (Ojai, Calif.) and Scott Ewing (Miami, Fla.) – 2nd overall
• 49erFX: Quinn Wilson (Ojai, Calif.) and Romain Screve (Kentfield, Calif.) – 6th overall
Coaches: Mark Asquith and Craig Wilson

Laser U21 World Championship
July 26 – August 2, Nieuwpoort, Belgium
• Laser: Henry Marshall (Auburndale, Mass.)
• Laser: Paul Didham (San Diego, Calif.)
• Laser: Scott Rasmussen (Coral, Fla.)
• Laser Radial: Marshall McCann (Houston, Texas)
• Laser Radial: Ford McCann (Houston, Texas)
• Laser Radial: Christina Sakellaris (Milton, Mass.)
• Laser Radial: Sophia Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Laser Radial: Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Laser Radial: Carly Broussard (Newport, R.I.)
Coaches: Brendan Casey, Rulo Borojovich, Leandro Spina

Laser Radial Youth World Championship
August 11-18, 2017, Medemblik, The Netherlands
• Leo Boucher (West Ricer, Md.)
• Chase Carraway (Wrightsville Beach, N.C.)
• Joseph Hou (Newport Beach, Calif.)
• Charlotte Rose (Houston, Texas)
• Hallie Schiffman (Sarasota, Fla.)
• Lillian Myers (Sarasota, Fla.)
Coaches: Brendan Casey and Rulo Borojovich

Laser Radial World Championship
August 19-26, 2017, Medemblik, The Netherlands
• Christina Sakellaris (Milton, Mass.)
• Hallie Schiffman (Sarasota, Fla.)
• Hanne Weaver (Seattle, Wash)
• Sophia Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Anna Weis (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Lillian Myers (Sarasota, Fla.)
Coaches: Leandro Spina and Brendan Casey

Founded in early 2015, US Sailing’s ODP is a long-term initiative to help young American sailors build the complete skill set necessary to achieve success in high-performance sailing and at the Olympic level. The ODP provides significantly improved (and US Sailing-funded) training to youth athletes who demonstrate potential and a standout work ethic.

The program consists of dozens of high-level invitational training camps held around the U.S. each year, as well as travel teams organized for major international events. For 2017 ODP Master Schedule, click here.

Source: US Sailing