Midwest Junior Sailors Compete for Junior Olympic Sailing Titles

Lake Saint Louis, Missouri (July 18,2010) - Future sailing stars gathered in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri for the 2010 USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Midwest. At the event, which ran from July 16-18, young sailors from several states took to the waters of Lake Sainte Louise for a shot at titles in Sunfish and Laser sailboat classes.

Ian Jones, of Tulsa, OK, earned a gold medal in the Laser "A" division. Jones won 11 of the 15 races sailed by the Laser fleet. Earning the silver medal was Patrick Kopiwoda of Murfreesboro, TN, followed by Oliver Seekins from Tulsa, OK.

Local Lake Saint Louis sailor Sam Geerling took the gold for the Laser "B" division. Geerling was followed by fellow Lake Saint Louis sailor Andrew Buell, who earned a silver medal, and Zara Graves, from St. Louis, who earned the bronze. Lake Saint Louis sailor Richard Oman finished fourth in the "B" fleet.

The Sunfish fleet was dominated by Lake Saint Louis sailors. Halley Noel won 8 of the 11 races completed by the Sunfish fleet to earn a gold medal. Chris Geerling earned the silver, and Patrick Miyat took home the bronze. Hunter Noel, who was only able to sail the races on Sunday, took fourth.

The 3-day Festival kicked off on Friday, July 16 with sailing lessons for junior sailors. Following the sailing lessons, the Lake Saint Louis Sailing & Paddling Club hosted their annual Pirate Party, where event participants cruised the waters of Lake Sainte Louise in search of "pirate treasure." Racing took place the following two days, and medals were awarded on Sunday, July 18 at 3:00 p.m. to the top three finishers in each class, based on a cumulative point system.

US Sailing, national governing body for the sport of sailing, organizes the USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival program, a nationwide series of regattas designed to promote the enjoyment of sailing and development of skills to young sailors as well as to provide an Olympic pathway for talented junior sailors. The Missouri event, featuring fun both on and off the water, is expected to draw up to 100 young sailors. Some may already have regional, national and international titles under their belts.

The Lake Saint Louis Sailing & Paddling Club was the sponsoring organization for the Midwest event. The Lake Saint Louis Community Association Clubhouse provided the perfect venue for spectators to watch the sailors, as racing took place just offshore.

About the USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival program

In 2010, 25 events are planned in the continental United States and Hawaii and over 4,000 sailors are expected to participate. Junior Olympic Sailing is coordinated by US SAILING and sponsored by West Marine, Gill, Active.com and Hobie sunglasses.

Junior Olympic (JO) sailing was started in 1997 by US SAILING, the National Governing Body of the sport. The goal of the program is to draw more young sailors to the sport through this nationwide family of events. Each regatta offers youth sailors the opportunity to learn, enjoy the fun and excitement of competitive sailing, and develop skills for a lifelong involvement in the sport. The series is designed to both grow the grassroots of the sport and to give talented junior sailors an Olympic pathway. Junior Olympic sailing is now in its 13th year. Over 38,000 sailors have participated since the program began in 1997.

For more information about the Junior Olympic program, please visit www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jo or contact US SAILING Inshore Director, Lee Parks at 401-683-0800 or via e-mail at leeparks@ussailing.org.