TOP MEN’S SAILING TEAMS TO BATTLE FOR US SAILING’S MALLORY TROPHY

September 6, 2002 (Portsmouth, RI/Corona del Mar, CA)—On September 25, 2002, top men’s sailing teams, chosen through a series of ladder events across the country, will converge on the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club (Corona del Mar,
CA) for US SAILING’s U.S. Men's Sailing Championship. Rolex Watch U.S.A. sponsored the event, as it does all of US SAILING's Adult Championships.

Racing in J/24s with a crew of four, including the helmsman, will begin Thursday, September 26 and conclude Sunday, September 29, with ten races scheduled. More information about the J/24 can be found at www.j24class.org.

The winning team will receive the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy. The Station J. Peele, Jr. Sportsmanship Trophy will be awarded to the skipper or crew who best exemplifies sportsmanship both on and off the water. The Royal Victoria Yacht Club Seamanship Trophy will be awarded to the team exhibiting the best seamanship during the national event. US SAILING medals will be awarded to the skippers and crews finishing in the top three positions. For more information about the Championship, visit www.ussailing.org/mallory.

Regatta chair for the U.S. Men’s Sailing Championship is Doug Mills, who can be reached at dlmills@uci.edu. Chairman of the U.S. Men's Sailing Championship Committee is Dick Goodman, who can be reached at r_jgoodman@hotmail.com.

Robert Schmidt, David Bolyard, and Hew Hamilton (Gulfport Yacht Club) won the 2000 Mallory Cup. The 2001 event was not sailed, due to the tragedies of September 11.

While youth and women had had national, ladder-system championships for a quarter century, it was not until 1952 that a similar championship for men eighteen years and older was established during Robert N. Bavier, Jr.’s tenure as Executive Director of NAYRU (now US SAILING). The family of Clifford D. Mallory, who revived NAYRU in 1925, provided a magnificent sterling silver tureen, purportedly from the estate of Lord Nelson but according to the hallmarks more likely executed after his death for his brother. It was immediately popular, with twenty of the twenty-three district associations competing in the inaugural match won by Cornelius Shields of the Larchmont Yacht Club. The next year, the regulations were relaxed to permit female members in the crew but not at the helm.

Notable winners were Harry C. (Buddy) Melges, Jr. of the Inland Lake Yachting Association - three years in row, while Eugene H. Wallet, III of New Orleans, Glenn Darden of the Texas Yachting Association and Michael Turner of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club who each won two straight. Scott Young of Texas has won four times, twice as crew and twice as skipper.

For more information about this or other US SAILING national championship events, contact Linda Christofersen at (401) 683-0800. The series’ schedule, Notice of Race, Entry Form and contact information can be found by calling the toll-free InfoFax line at 888-US SAIL-6 or on the US SAILING website at www.ussailing.com/championships.

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for the sport of sailing. The mission of this volunteer organization is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing in the United States. More information about US SAILING, which is headquartered in Portsmouth, RI, is available at www.ussailing.org.