JANUARY 4, 2007

Locals may not be gracious hosts in this Rose Bowl

LONG BEACH, Calif.---Like the Michigan Wolverines facing USC's rampaging Trojans in Pasadena last Monday, more than 400 young sailors will find themselves in another very competitive environment for the 22nd annual Rose Bowl Regatta Saturday and Sunday.

A record turnout of 89 teams---30 colleges from every corner of the country and 59 high schools from throughout California---will be hosted by the eighth-ranked USC sailing team in the nation's largest combined collegiate and high school regatta, organized and conducted by the US Sailing Center of Long Beach and Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. The club will be the shore base for racing scheduled to start on adjoining Alamitos and Naples Bays at 11 a.m. each day, conditions permitting.

Defending champion and sixth-ranked Boston College is led by California's own Adam Roberts of San Diego, and the state's high school powerhouses will be out in force following strong individual showings in last weekend's Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta at Miami.

Tyler Sinks of Point Loma High School, with crew Morgane Renoir, won the 78-boat Club 420 class for the second successive year. At Long Beach Sinks and everyone else will be sailing similar two-person CFJs with a six-inch shorter length overall.

Top-ranked Dartmouth will not compete but Stanford and Georgetown, ranked second and third , head a college lineup with five of the top nine and nine of the top 17 teams.

Newport Harbor is the defending high school champion, led by Charlie Buckingham, fourth among 38 Lasers at Miami, and Michael Menninger, fourth among 127 Laser Radials, and Chris Barnard and crew Chris Segerblom, who were a close third to Sinks and Renoir in the 420.

All were members of the 35-person contingent supported by the California International Sailing Association. Olympic campaigners Adam Roberts, Andrew Campbell and Graham Biehl led by head CISA Coach Robbie Dean provided a unique "CISA Team" atmosphere and outstanding coaching.

"It's a win-win for everybody," Jerelyn Biehl, a member of the CISA Selection Committee, told reporter Lynn Fitzpatrick for an article about CISA on the Sail Magazine web site
( http://sailmag.com/CISAorange/ ). "The coaches are Olympic caliber athletes. By coaching they can help to fund their Olympic campaigns, and the kids get to participate in a huge international regatta in their own country."

The format for the Rose Bowl Regatta places more emphasis on team success than on individual performance. The fleets will be divided into A and B divisions, which will rotate boats off the beach.

Sinks was quoted that his first experience at Miami in 2002 "was crazy, there were so many boats and so many kids! I was used to sailing in 25- to 30-boat Sabot fleets. I'd never sailed against 90 boats before."

Before returning to defend his title at Miami last week, Sinks said he was "totally excited" and didn't "want to go downhill" from his previous finish. Instead, like many of the Californians, he seems to be on a roll.

MORE INFORMATION

United States Sailing Center
(562) 433-7939
www.ussclb.org

Rich Roberts
Press Officer
(310) 835-2526
cell (race days) (310) 766-6547
richsail@earthlink.net

www.uscsailing.org
www.abyc.org