JU Sailing Team and EFYC to Host
Men’s Singlehanded Championship Oct. 1 and 2
Jacksonville, Fla.—Jacksonville University's Sailing Team and the Epping Forest Yacht Club (EFYC) will host the 2011 South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association's (SAISA) men's singlehanded championship on October 1 and 2.
Racing will take place in the St. John's River adjacent to Epping Forest. Twelve sailors from colleges and universities from South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida will compete in the event.
“This is the first time for JU and our city to host such an event,” said Dr. Steven Davis, JU Sailing Club advisor. “We hope the competition not only brings recognition to our program but shows just how talented and hard-working our students are.”
Competition will take place in Laser racing dinghies, which are high performance Olympic class sailboats crewed by one person.
Hosting this regatta is made possible by the growing partnership between EFYC and JU, which has resulted in several yearly sailing events, a perennial sailing award for the JU Sailor of the Year, and substantial fund raising toward upgrading the JU Sailing program.
JU is the home of Northeast Florida's only competitive collegiate sailing program. Currently a coed club sport regular member of the Southeastern Atlantic Sailing Association (SAISA), the JU Sailing team has improved over the last three years to qualify for the regional championships, which is the first step toward the national championships for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA).
The JU Sailing team aims to be competitive at the national level within the next three to five years. Our competition regionally includes the College of Charleston, the University of South Florida, and Eckerd College all have sent teams to the national championships in recent years and finished in either the top 10 or top 15 consistently. The JU program stands poised to add another high-level team to this growing region.
For more information, call 904-256-7139 or visit http://sailing.ju.edu/