Show goes on amid pandemic

The 2020 San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta (SDOCR) will be held August 8-9, marching on amid the local and state restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. With all recreational boating within the county allowed only for members of a household, the regatta will be limited to single-handed classes.

With over 70 Finns, Lasers, and Laser Radials entered, the third annual running of the event will be raced on Coronado Roads, south of Point Loma, allowing for national-level race management and competition.

The San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta was established in 2018 to provide sailors of all ages with a venue to train and compete in international, high performance classes. San Diego’s long history of Olympic sailing achievement will hopefully inspire sailors to participate and reach for the pinnacle of success in our sport.

Alice Schmid, who has been in the Laser Radial for about two months, is eager for the chance to compete. “I wanted to race in a larger fleet as there haven’t been many regattas this summer. My goals for the future include going to Youth Champs in 2021 and maybe even qualifying for the Youth Worlds. I also am looking forward to 2028 Olympic in LA.”

While this is the third year for the event, the concept has been around for a long time. “Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA) has been doing an OCR for over 50 years, although it devolved to include other regionally popular classes as many of the competitive Olympic Class sailors were lured to Europe to train and compete on the world stage,” noted Jeff Johnson, the SDYC Waterfront Director.

“With the carrot of the summer Olympic games in Los Angeles in 2028, training for US Olympic Class sailors, and youth development in the US, especially on the west coast is only going to get more intense over the next eight years. In four years, the world stage will be here anticipating Los Angeles 2028. And it is true that someone, right now in our junior fleet, is very likely to be a contender for those Games.”

In 2021, the SDOCR will be held in late June or early July as the US Sailing Olympic Program long term strategy splits the domestic OCR schedule into three geographic areas: Fall/Winter – Florida, Spring/Summer – California, Late Summer/Early Fall – New York. The SDOCR event next year will host a number of current and legacy Olympic classes, along with the Flying Dutchmen Nationals.

Event details: https://sdyc.org/calendar/event/san-diego-olympic-classes-regatta

2020 Classes and Events Canceled
• Snipe (Pacific Coast Championships)
• Flying Dutchman (National Championship)
• 29er skiff (Hamilin Series)
• International 420
• Nacra 15 Catamaran
• All Olympic Class doublehand fleets (Mens 49er, Women’s FX, Mixed Nacra 17, mens and women’s 470, mens and womens RSX boards)

2020 Safety Protocols at SDOCR
• Managing the boat park to stage boats at appropriate intervals to avoid crowds
• Launch window assigned for each fleet
• Face masks or neck gaiters required while in close proximity to others or while moving around SDYC property apart from their boat
• Temperature checks will be available
• No in-person parties or meal time
• All competitor notices and scores will be posted online, not in person
• Skipper’s Meeting will be in the parking lot to allow for distance and available via Zoom (link will be posted on the notice board and online)
• Prepared food will be delivered to boats post-event

Source: SDYC, Scuttlebutt