AC Youth Sailing

This community is pretty tapped in to the world of cat sailing. Have any youth sailors received a call from the AC regarding sailing an AC 45? I'd like to get an interview with them if so.

Tomorrow's announcement at the AC press conference regarding youth sailing is going to be interesting.

Red Bull?

Stories

Who is the recruiting comm for this mission? I would assume that Mr. Craig or his rep may have some answers tomorrow. I am waiting to see if there will be an application process, or if recruiting will handled by invitations.

The F 16 has been an excellent platform for developing young talent - thanks to Robbie and Jill.

I hope John Casey is in the loop.

So how do we get information about AC and opportunities for youth? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I've got one of the most active youth multihull sailors in the country and we've been begging for info since the intial AC press conference a year ago September......

Here's some info.

Reiss,
This link might work better:
http://noticeboard.americascup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/EventNotice-RedBullYouthAC.pdf

It looks like your son will have to find five other young people and the funds to get everybody to SF, then get everybody's sailing resumes together and email them in. (See the bottom of the pdf.)

Am I reading correctly that the youth teams need to pay $35k in an entry fee?

That's how I read it. Jeez, I hope nobody actually does that.

Rumor has it that there is a Dutch team already assembled and looking for sponsorship, and a team being put together in NZL.

Well let's put together our dream team of Youth for the US and get them sponsored. If by nobody else we can sponsor them. I'll put up some dough for a well balanced team.

5. CREW
5.1. Crew selection: Each team shall be responsible for selection of their crew.
5.2. Number: Yachts shall be sailed with a crew of 6 persons.
5.3. Age: All members of the crew shall be aged at least 19 of age on August 1, 2013 and
shall be no older than 23 years of age on October 1, 2013.
5.4. Nationality: Each crewmember must have held a passport of or have been domiciled in
the country of the team for which he/she is sailing for a period of five years immediately
prior to the first scheduled race of the regatta.
5.5. Maximum Crew Weight: The maximum all up crew weight shall not exceed 450 kg

(950 lbs) approx 165 lbs per person.

I'll Start Correct me if I'm wrong on any of the ages.

Matthew Whitehead.
Taylor Reiss
Sarah Newberry.

These kids are all a bit light though. All have proven themselves as elite sailors.

Ravi Parent
Eric Weinstein

I would donate towards a team, wish I was a couple years younger!

I would throw my (soon to be) brother-in-law to the list:
David Hein

and be 19 - 23 years of age... passports for, or 'domiciled' in the Team's country five years prior to the start of race...

One team per country - selected by the ACWS (item 1.60)

Maybe the pyramid begins with NA racing under the ACRM for eliminations which could very easily require eighty K said and done. Talk about advertising and expense for the Tybee 500 ???

Nah... the boat is run by specialists.

You need to put down the positions and the exact skill set needed then recruit for those positions.

Getting people who think they are helms... not a plan.

The plan I floated upwards was to spec out the criterion for each crew position... Run a selection process where sailors could build their resume for one of those positions over the summer. (grinder, trimmer, etc) Have a selection committee pick the team at the end of the summer.

There are a number of big fast multi's and tris and race keel boats around the country... Use these owners as part of a coaching team where the candidates get the training they need towards the job they are shooting for and they get a recommendation from the coaches on the boats.

Someone start a kickstarter campaign for the US AC Youth Team!

I'd like to understand the six positions. Maybe someone here can help.

I'll name what I know.
1. Helm
2. Jib Trimmer.
3. Grinder.

And I'll argue that just because they helm normally doesn't mean that they will be helming on this boat. Most if not all would be happy to be in any position. I think a person that can fit in any position would help the team the most.

We would also need a great coach. That's a tough one. Quite a few outstanding coaches.


What are the other positions.

tactician?
Bowman/Bowperson?

This is good. My concern is that due to the rouge nature of cat sailors in general, the traditional Yacht Clubs/collegiate sailing programs have a leg up. I saw it in SF yesterday, where Cal, Stanford, et al. were represented in the presentation...nary a wayward catsailor.

I'd like to see women represented on the youth boat as well!

Someone best come up with a plan...and soon!

My thoughts as well, Surf City.

College sailors are going to eat this alive because they are very well trained, disciplined in many types of sailing craft, and diverse in skills. Ever hear of 'Morning Light?'

The romantic notion of the beach cat sailors competing is over - it's a myth... though I am sure a few hard fighters in the Cat 'Ohana' might make it through...Matt Whitehead is my first example. He has been on the sailing team this year in college and possibly has a lead.

The sailors in the required age range were brought up on optis, lasers, 420's and keel/sport boats. How many beach cat sailors with a wide range of disciplines are available, percentage wise, compared to the yacht club and college grown sailors the same age?

How many boats will finally be available?

Of course, I am taking the dark side just in case - murphy's law or something driven by fate and fortune might allow two USA boats to match race for the US ACWS - thus offering, at least, more opportunities.

I was thinking an individual (parents) had to come up with that much.

$100. Who do I send the check to?

We would have to come up with some serious cash.

5K up front for consideration. Returned if not selected
30K more if selected for entry.
25K for Damage deposit.

If my math is right that's 60K just for starters.
Travel, Food, and hotel for 14 days I would assume be covered by participants or parents?
Coach fee would have to be covered somehow. Not sure I would guess around 5K for coach fee depending on who you get.

Not sure how you cover all those costs.

We could run it through Carlyle Youth Sailing School (CYSS) as a 501c Non Profit. Then CYSS could cut the check of 5K to the ACRM.

I think raising 5K would be pretty easy. Raising the rest might be harder.

Also would need to have a board put together for the selection.

I say if the team doesn't get accepted we donate the funds to the Hoyt-Jolly fund.

I wonder who administrates the Hoyt-Jolly fund these days? Does the MHC still have sole control of it separate from US Sailing. That would also be a good place to run the money to for this as a non-profit.

I'll put up $100 for starters. I'm willing to put up more if selected.

I think if we grab the top Cat prospects that we will be taken seriously. This is a great opportunity for us but we have to move fast with ACRM accepting applications July 1st. It doesn't say when they will stop but getting there first is always a good plan.

It's a US sailing fund that is gifted to the MHC. No USS, no fund.

Come up with a solid number first. LikeIsaid, I'm in for $100.

What kind of money do you need?

The green kind.

Iirc, 350 people responded to the MHC survey, if they all put up $100, there's the entry fee.

If ever there was a good excuse to have a "B" fleet course at Alter Cup, this would be it.

I think what might work the best is to find out which YC has serious interest (St.FYC), and sponsor several multi youth, who may not be affiliated with a YC/College, and sponsor them to join in.

Maybe the Hobie Class/other classes and multi orgs, could pony up. Money shouldn't be that difficult to come up with. The story will be epic!

Sponsoring a few of our youth rather than an entire team would be a good route.

Its is a lot of money you need per crewmember but with sponsors not impossible.
Basically it is a $6000 entry fee and another $4000 for the insurance bond.

I'm not following your logic. Don't we need a whole team?

Guys, I think the Request for Applications warrants a closer read, especially items 1.5 and 1.6. If I understand it correctly, there are 2 possible (likely) opportunities/pathways for U.S. sailors between 19 and 23 to get in on this. One is to be part of a team fielded by Oracle (1.6). The other is to be part of something like a "Team San Francisco" (1.5), and I'm sure the San Francisco sailing establishment has a lot of ideas on how to put it together and pay for it.

How teams will select their own competitors is still unclear, but if I'm reading this right, bake sales, bikini car washes, and $5/$10/$100 donations from moms and dads are probably not going to play much of a role in the youth series. Unless Oracle chooses not to field a team.

Too bad.

Not if you're one of the kids who gets recruited to a team. If I were 20 and suddenly found myself training with Oracle, I don't think I'd be telling myself, "aw, shucks."

Oracle doesn't have a stable of 19-23 year olds it's waiting to unleash upon the Red Bull Youth America's Cup... The Oracle brass can't just call up it's nieces and nephews in Australia and Kiwiland to pack onto their boats. It's got to recruit local talent, and they must be U.S. sailors (citizens or long-term residents, item 5.4 in the RFA). And since the U.S. will be unique in having not one but 2 teams (counting "Team San Francisco"), that's twice as many opportunities open to U.S.A. sailors.

I don't think that's too bad at all.

If you are Oracle... what do you want from this program...???

Max PR value in every sailing region of the country. AND you want the selection process to drag out for as long as you can make it.. (You don't give a fig if your team wins...)

The San Fran boat was part of the deal to support youth sailing IN SAN FRANCISCO... we sent in lots of ideas for clinics and partnerships... Oracle went this way... San Fran seems to have bought in as well.

Hopefully the ideas (see above) sent up through the MHC and US Sailing wind up on the proper desks.

I agree. But it isn't something that will vitalize sailing at the grassroots.

My thought is this:

With one spot for the US, I don't think that the blue blazer crowd would be that stoked to let a team of rogue cat sailors take it. But, a grass roots effort to get one or two on a team would probably fly. I anticipate fierce competition.

I'm generalizing, surely there are many capable youth cat sailors, that have the cred, and also have affiliations with YCs or College sailing programs.

I think some central organization (US Sailing???) should quickly come up with some sort of broad vetting process that doesn't exclude the rogue element.

Or...one of you needs to write a check for a couple a hundred grand.

It'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out. Surely once a viable plan is in place, sponsorship money will roll in.

Wish I had enough time in the smaller multis to be considered for this.

There is a standing invitation for the Stanford sailors to walk down the block and hop on an F18 in Redwood City...

Wouldn't the Alter Cup have a new-found purpose with this development?

OK, let's get realistic.

Leaving the politics and money factors out of the equation for the sake of this discussion...

For the skipper and tactician positions: It is widely known that all of the teams strongly believe that it is wiser/easier/faster to take a good match racer and turn him into a cat sailor than the other way around. While there are very few good match racers (on any type of boat) in this age range, kids that have come up through the Opti/college route will try to make a strong case that they understand rules and tactics better that a typical cat sailor.

For the crew positions: These are (very) physical boats. For these positions, they need physical sailors first, smart/cat-experienced second. You could argue that they don't even need to be sailors in the first place.

There will be an application process, so I doubt they would put non-sailors on these teams. There will also need to be some practice, and we've had some discussion about what that might look like.

I would say that if we're lucky, we'd see a maximum of one experienced cat sailor per team.

Mike

EDIT: BTW, the Alter Cup has absoulely no relevance to this event or the Olympics, and likely never will.

For the record:

"3.1. The regatta format will be fleet racing."

Match racing skill may have even less bearing on the selection process than cat sailing experience.

The host city boat will be San Francisco's baby, a strictly homegrown affair. I have no idea who's coordinating it at this point, but the boat will be crewed by members or recent alumni of the Bay area's many youth sailing programs (some club-affiliated, others club-independent). I heard over the weekend--but can't say for sure that it's true--that even the stars of collegiate programs at Stanford, Berkeley, Cal Maritime, etc., will be passed over unless they themselves came up through the ranks of San Francisco's junior programs.

For everyone else in the country the ticket will be to get noticed by Oracle. Given the direction Oracle has taken the Cup, not to mention the long-standing involvement of many its team own members in small cat sailing, I think it's unfair to assume they're going to poo-poo cat sailors when it comes to picking their youth team. In fact, I don't think the whole blue-blazer-vs.-catsailor narrative even makes any sense to them. (If it did, our eyes would still be glazing over watching Version 5 boats drift around in prestarts.) They just want talent, and they'll be looking for winners. Whether they won on big boats or small boats, one hull or two hulls, singlehanded or as part of a big monoslug crew--who knows? But winners they will be.

That's encouraging, maybe "the boyz" will get a look.

Good point about the match racing, but I'm referring to the overall mentality. We will certainly push to see cat sailing in the application process, but Oracle is primarily driving the bus.

Mike

as we saw in Venice, tactics in a fleet race are certainly slow and clean air/boatspeed are king.

But I agree that the establishment will probably want to boast about their team sailors having an extensive resume on a number of different boats. Since most catsailors are anit-establishment in the first place, it may be hard to "fit" back in there to be noticed.

But here's the silver lining.... Most likely some of this technology will eventually trickle down to the "restofus" group wherein we could enjoy a somewhat scaled down version of this exciting platform

And, given that there seems to be a growing interest in multihull platforms for a number of different races, there could be a future opening up for those folk willing to put in the mileage...

Looks like SoCal is bringing it!

Youth Team!

BREAKING! American Youth Sailing Force in the house. The second American America's Cup youth team has announced their campaign!

American Youth Sailing Force!

Surf

Is there any more information on how San Fran and Oracle plan to select their teams? or even a time frame for selection.
These two groups are making some big assumptions that a team approach is worthwhile.

I don't know. It's a big mystery.

Here come the Aussies....