U.S. Champs Set Sail For North Carolina
October 18, 2021
NORTH CAROLINA- The U.S. Youth Champs has been the U.S. sailing’s pinnacle youth regatta for 40 years.
The team features the nation’s top youth competitors who compete in high-performance sailing competitions.
After the cancelation of the 2020 completion, due to the pandemic, the 2021 edition was held Oct 9-11 in Arapahoe, NC.
The event took place at Camp Sea Gull and Seafarer, founded by the YMCA. 156 sailors, 19-years-old and younger, contested the regatta in the 29er, International 420, ILCA 7 (Standard), ILCA 6 (Radial), and Nacra 15.
Chapman Peterson, the 2019 Youth Sailing Champion in the Laser Radial, returned to defend his Youth Championship title.
“We haven’t had a national event in many months, so I expect to see some brand-new names at the top of the Radial fleet. It’s always exciting to see who has been putting in work since the last event,” said Peterson to Scuttlebutt Sailing News.
In addition, the event hosted six coaches who support the regatta’s mission to facilitate education and development opportunities.
Those coaches included:
– Richard Feeny, Youth Champs Head Coach, U.S. Sailing
– Mitch Brindley, Head Coach, Old Dominion University
– Robbie Daniel, Head Coach, Red Gear Racing
– Dane Wilson, US Sailing Team athlete, 49er Class
– Ward Cromwell, Head Coach, College of Charleston
– John Pearce, Sports Development Director, U.S. Sailing
The regatta is usually held in the Spring. Still, due to the pandemic, the event was postponed early on in 2021, providing the sailors with more time to practice before the October competition.
