|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Home |
Club |
Events |
Fleets |
Juniors |
Store
Go to Members Only Section | Non Members | Web Site Usage | |
|
JUNIOR DIVISION INFORMATION Our Junior Program draws big crowds to the club for Junior Week. But that's only the start. The summer begins early with Race Team practices on June weekends, followed by Junior Week, a new Offshore Regatta, at least two Fishing Bay Junior Regattas, traveling with friends to regattas at clubs around the Bay on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and opportunities to sail with other Junior Sailors at FBYC's Annual Regatta, Dog Days Series, Fall Series and Indian Summer Regattas. We often stay at host homes when we travel and have lots of fun along the way.
The Mission of the FBYC Junior Division is to train juniors in basic and advanced sailing techniques for a lifetime of sailing. The Objectives of the Junior Division are for each junior to learn to sail, enjoy sailing, and learn to race and participate in racing. How does the Junior Division do this? Great coaches. Our coaches work for FBYC full time in the summer - from early June through early August. The coaches are at the club to teach our juniors by appointment and to travel with the Junior Race Team. Please use them as a resource and they can be reached as follows:
Good equipment. We own 13 Optis, 2 Lasers, a Byte, 7 420s, and 2 junior windsurfers which are available for use by members. For any race on the FBYC schedule, the boats must be reserved on a first-come first-served basis through the Head Coach. The Junior Shed stores sails, masts, buoys, etc. We have a Junior Coaches Boat for the coaches to use to teach at FB and to use when traveling to away events. Parent and junior volunteers run the program. Some of their names are listed on page 3 of the Sailing Events Book. This year's Junior Division officers are: Commander, Noel Clinard; Lt. Commander, Steve Wirt; Race Committee Chair, Mike Toms; and a Race Team program coordinator, Ruthanna Jenkins. All Junior events need additional volunteers for safety boats, race committees, social duties, etc. The club's programs are a three-way partnership between the club volunteers, coaches and parents. Diverse schedule with something for all. The events are summarized below: FBYC Junior Events - Non-Racing "I loved my 5 years at Fishing Bay's Junior Week, but I never raced. However, the sailing skills I learned at Fishing Bay enabled me to try out for the sailing team in college. I made it and became Captain of the Dartmouth women's team. Thank you so much!" Alice Nelson We host non-racing events where juniors can learn to sail and enjoy the water.
FBYC One Design Events - Racing The Spring Series (especially the June races for juniors), the Annual Regatta, the Fall Series and the Indian Summer Regattas are One Design Events for all One Design sailors, adults and juniors. As described below, two regular Junior Regattas are also held, as well as a new Dog Days Series in August and early September for juniors. FBYC Junior Regattas - Racing "I think I speak for the kids I raced with, when I say that we really got into doing the regattas because of the other kids on the FB team, the great coaches, and the laid-back environment which still kept a focus on racing excellence when on the racecourse." Caroline Garrett We host 2 regular annual junior racing events - The Summer Junior Regatta and the August Junior Regatta. Juniors from other clubs come to FBYC to race. Our regattas are popular with visitors because of the great sailing conditions on Fishing Bay for smaller boats - protected smooth waters, good winds and great visibility for parents. Junior Regattas are designed to be fun. A first time racer can join the Green Fleet in an Opti. They always have a separate start which makes it easy for beginners. At FBYC regattas, on-the-water coaching is allowed for Green Fleeters in the back half of the fleet. More experienced juniors can join the Red (Age 13-15), Blue (Age 11 and 12) or White (Age 10 and under) Optimist fleets or sail a Byte, Laser, Laser Radial. A team of two juniors may borrow one of FBYC's 420s's if they are not reserved by Racing Team members. Club Opti's are also available for loan. At the end of the regattas there are always great trophies and a fun cookout at the clubhouse. During the summer of 2005, the Junior Division hopes to arrange an offshore race in at least two matched offshore boats, crewed by Junior Race Team members and other interested juniors. Two around the buoys races on big boats with special sailing instructions requiring one junior crewmember for every adult crewmember on board, and a junior sailor driving at least fifty (50) percent of the course, insures that junior sailors will get a lot of experience. More details of this event will be provided later.
FBYC Traveling Junior Events - Racing "When I was around 10-14 I traveled to as many regattas as I could. We'd pile in Rob Wardwell's conversion van and ride up to the regatta. The ride was almost as fun as the race. Rob would have music on and we'd just mess around and have a good time. The races were always fun even if you did horribly, which often happened to me. It was fun sailing around with kids your age and meeting new people and swimming and bailer fights were always an option. After the races there were often cookouts and heated games of ultimate Frisbee, a great game, would break out. One summer when I was eleven, I traveled to tons of regattas and it was definitely one of the more fun summers I've ever had." Daniel Thompson "Go on the road with the FBYC team. You won't want to come back.... home that is." Parker Garrett Any junior is welcome to join the Traveling Junior Race Team. In years past, we have had as many as 15 -20 FBYC Juniors travel together to regattas at other Clubs - Hampton, Annapolis, West River, Gibson Island, Tred Avon, etc. The coaches transport the boats, and parents go along as drivers and to support the group. The parents and coaches help the racers get organized and the coaches coach the participants between races. A parent volunteer will help coordinate each race. We hope to get a number of juniors to go to traveling team events. We have selected a few key events to attend from the CBYRA Junior schedule as set forth in the following pages. This year Steve Wirt is organizing car pools for away events and Deltaville practices well in advance of the summer. Please contact him if you can help at williamwirt@cox.net. Junior Championship Events - Racing "Growing up in the Fishing Bay Junior Program was one of the greatest times of my life. Traveling, giving Chessey (Charlie's Dog) shotgun, joking around with Parker and Malcolm, and racing was an experience that I will never forget. I have developed a lifelong love for sailing, and it is the Fishing Bay program I have to thank" Blake Kimbrough "Fostered by competition and committed to coming back by the times had with friends on the road and at Fishing Bay, I was able to compete and win at the top of college racing. With my love for sailing fueled by my memories of time spent on and off the water as a junior, I spent 1000 days on the water over the past four years. Competition brought me to the regattas and practices; friends are the reason I always come back." Parker Garrett "The only way you see real competition is to participate in a national or regional event. My first national event was in 1993 Laser Radial Nationals in Miami. It was a real eye-opener because although you may be the big cheese at your yacht club or even on the Bay, there's a bigger fishbowl you can't forget about." Caroline Garrett In 2005, FBYC has the honor of hosting the CBYRA Midget Championship for 420s and Optis on July 8, and the Bay Open/Junior Olympic Festival on July 9 and 10 in cooperation with CBYRA and US Sailing. These are significant events in junior sailing and the latter draws almost 200 junior sailors sailing Optis, Lasers, Laser Radials and 420s. Tom Coleman, 'the guru' of the Green Fleet from McLaughlin, will be at the Bay Open/JOs to conduct a Green Fleet Clinic and race course. Volunteers will be needed so we can make a good showing in these terrific opportunities to showcase our club in major junior sailing events. We also list some championships to which FBYC should send representatives. If we can generate interest from our juniors, we will dedicate our coach resources to help the juniors participate. In the past, FBYC has produced some great sailors. They got started at FBYC's Junior Week and then advanced to Junior Championships. National and Regional Championships are held for Optis, Lasers, Laser Radials and 420s and some of the events are nearby. US Sailing offers the Sears, Bemis and Smythe Cups as the National Championships for Junior's sailing single-handed, double-handed and triple-handed events. Ask our coaches if you think you could go to some of these events. Safety Requirements We have always prided ourselves on running a good junior program and have established safety standards. Mandatory safety requirements for the Junior Program include:
|
|
|