US Youths line up

The U.S. Youth Sailing Championship is due to begin later this week

From 26 June to 1 July , the USA's top youth sailors are slated to compete in the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship hosted by the San Francisco Yacht Club, sponsored nationally by Nautica and LaserPerformance. The young sailors ranging from 13 to 19 years old will race Lasers, Laser Radials, 29ers, and Club 420s in the challenging conditions of San Francisco Bay.

National event organizer US Sailing has selected a field of 150 sailors hailing from 16 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands based on their sailing resumes and performance at regional, national and international competitions; they represent some of the most talented young athletes in the sport.

In the singlehanded events, among those to watch in the Laser class will be Luke Lawrence with an impressive record of wins at national and international events including first place in both the US Youth Worlds Qualifier and Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta and 11th place at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in 2007. He will be up against some tough competition, such as Georgetown University freshman Charlie Buckingham, who is fresh from his win at the ICSA College National Championship, and Teddy Himler, who has moved up from the Laser Radial after winning that class in 2006.

In the Laser Radials, Anne Haeger will be one to watch after a successful 2007 in which she won silver at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, was the highest finishing girl at the U.S. Youth Championship, and finished an impressive fourth at the very competitive U.S. Olympic Team Trials. A victory for Haeger is not a given however, particularly with names such as Ian Heausler (last year's Laser Radial champion), as well as Claire Dennis and Emily Billing.

In the doublehanded classes, San Diegans Briana Provancha and Tyler Sinks could be the favorites in the Club 420 fleet. These two champions have teamed up after each having won a doublehanded fleet in the event last year (Provancha won the 29er, Sinks the Club 420). They will need to look out for sailors such as Stephanie Hudson of Winnetka, Ill, and Laura McKenna of Palo Alto, Calif., who have had solid front-row finishes at the 420 Youth and National Championships. The 29er team of Oliver Toole and Willie McBride, last year's second-place finishers in the Youth Championship, will be challenged by sailors such as Max Fraser and David Liebenberg who finished first in the recent 29er National Championship.

One of the highlights of the Championship will be advanced racing clinics taught by world-class sailors, including US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member Molly Carapiet; Brett Davis; Bern Noack; John Vandemoer; and John Pearce.

At the conclusion of the regatta, a number of significant awards will be presented to the winners. The Robert L. Johnstone Trophy, which honors Johnstone's pioneering work in popularizing one-design sailing and serving as the Youth Championship's creator and first committee chairman, will go to the winner of the Laser class. The Manton D. Scott Memorial Trophy, honors the life of an aspiring Olympic sailor whose life was cut short prematurely when he was electrocuted in 1973 when the mast of his boat made contact with an overhead power line, will be awarded to the winning boat in the Club 420 class. The Robert and Ann Conner Trophy, to honor the Conners' lifelong effort to promote junior sailing, will be awarded the winner of the Laser Radial class.