JOIN THE FBYC TEAM!
on Sunday January 18, 2015 02:39PM
Are you ready for the summer? Would you and your kids love a truly memorable experience that includes sailing, travel and FUN with friends? Join one of FBYC’s Junior Race Teams! Fishing Bay Yacht Club is renowned for the success of its sailing teams from Maine to Louisiana and across the Chesapeake Bay. Our goal is to get kids on the race course, and the best way to do that is on a team with expert coaches and great friends. From 7 year olds who have never raced to High School Seniors ready to sail collegiately-we have a team for everyone. Last year 46 juniors sailed on our five teams. This summer we are adding a sixth team-the Laser Development Team!
In addition to the summer teams we will have teams for both Optis and Lasers in the spring and fall. Registration opens February 1. Visit our website at https://www.fbyc.net/Juniors/Overview for information on all of our programs, and to register. Space is limited. Come join us!
Opti Development Team (June 26 through August 15. Approx. ages 7 to 15)
This is were it all starts! The Opti Development Team is designed for beginning and novice racers (0 to 2 years) interested in learning about racing. No prior racing knowledge or experience is required. We will teach it! The only prerequisites are Beginning Opti and at least one week of Intermediate Opti during Junior Week, or the equivalent experience.
The team’s season begins the last day of Junior Week, June 26, and runs through August 15, meeting Thursdays through Sundays. The team practices at the club or travels together to regattas on those days. Practices are typically four hours a day, either morning or afternoon. In addition to the two summer regattas at FBYC, the team will race at regattas close to home, including regattas at Hampton Yacht Club, Norfolk Yacht Club, Ware River Yacht Club, Rappahannock River Yacht Club, and Indian Creek Yacht Club.
The team is led by a parent coordinator and is coached by experienced college level coaches retained by the club, who are often graduates of our program. The coaches lead the practices from FBYC coach boats and teach racing techniques such as rigging and set-up, sail control, boat speed, points of sail, roll tacking and gybing, kiting, mark rounding and starts. The practices may be divided along age and experience levels to keep the sailor to coach ratio small and to maximize the learning experience. The coaches on all of our teams strive to coach each sailor at their individual level of development. Sessions are held on shore when weather conditions are not appropriate for sailing.
On race days the team travels together to the host club; the coordinator and coaches supervise the set up of the boats and check-in; and the coach supports the sailors on the water, providing lunches and water breaks, on-the-water coaching and encouragement between races, help with rig adjustments, and that all important safety net if needed. Appropriate parental supervision is required for each sailor.
And the FUN factor is never forgotten! Last summer the Opti Development Team took time out to swim, play in the pool, wakeboard, and play soccer and lacrosse! The coaches understand that it is a wasted day if kids are not having fun. No session or regatta is mandatory, so that tired sailors (and parents!) are free to take the day or weekend off.
Paul Almany, father of 2014 member Josh Almany, put together this fantastic video of the Opti Development Team’s summer: http://youtu.be/VuehsglmARI
Laser Development Team (June 26 - August 15. Approx. ages 12 - 18)
New this year is the Laser Development Team! It is intended as an introduction to the Laser, and as a bridge between the Opti and Laser Race Teams. It is appropriate for any junior who is new to the Laser Radial, no matter their racing experience.
The team will operate much like the Opti Development Team, practicing on the same days and attending the same regattas near home. The coaches will teach the fundamentals of the Laser Radial, such as rigging and set-up, sail control, boat speed, points of sail, roll tacking and gybing, kiting, mark rounding and starts, and weight placement and racing techniques specific to the Laser; and will support and coach the team members at regattas. Like the Opti Development Team, no practice or regatta is mandatory, leaving time for sailors and their families to enjoy other activities. The coaches will have the option to divide the team based on age and experience.
Opti & Laser Race Teams (June 13 - August 15. Approx. ages 10-18)
The Opti Race Team and the Laser Race Team are intense travel teams intended for experienced racers. Sailors typically spend two or more years on the Development Team before joining the Opti Race Team, and then move to the Laser Race Team (or Laser Development Team) once they have outgrown Optis. The teams begin practice two weekends prior to Junior Week, take advanced racing classes during Junior Week, and then spend much of the balance of the season on the road. They typically take one day off per week. The primary goal is to score high in the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association Junior High Points Series, which is a series made up of invitational regattas at member clubs across the Bay. Both teams also attend national and international regattas. In recent years the teams have raced at National Championships, North American Championships and large regional regattas in Canada, Minnesota, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. In 2015 we are planning on attending the Opti Nationals in Florida, the Opti New England Championships in Rhode Island, the Laser Nationals in New Jersey, and the Laser North American Championships in North Carolina.
The teams are coached by internationally known professional sailors and coaches, typically from South America. (Junior sailing is highly specialized in South America, and the best professional coaches from South America often coach in the US during their winter, which is our summer.) Many of our coaches have won national and world championships, and have coached for national organizations, including the USODA and in their home countries throughout South America, and in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Of course, as any sailor or parent can tell you, the sailors still love to have fun together! Last year members and their families visited New York City, toured Mystic Seaport, sailed on a restored 12 Meter Yacht, went to pro baseball games, rode the rides on the boardwalks of New Jersey, and-always a favorite-raced go-carts!
Gabriel Moran, our Laser Coach from 2012 through 2014, and currently the head coach of the Ecuador National Team, made this video of the 2014 team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_b-FXsNFjc It captures the excitement and fun of all of the FBYC Race Teams!
Spring & Fall Opti and Laser Race Teams
The FUN is not limited to the summer! FBYC will also offer spring and fall teams for both Optis and Lasers in 2015. The teams are coached by professional coaches on a per diem basis. Families pay only for events their sailor attends, leaving time for other sports and busy school schedules. The teams practice at the club on weekends and attend local and national regattas. Last fall the Opti Team raced in New Orleans, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Annapolis. This spring the Laser Team will race at the ACCs, which will be hosted by FBYC in May. Due to the often challenging conditions, drysuits are required for each participant. These teams are intended for experienced racers and we ask that sailors have at least one year experience on one of our other teams, or equivalent experience.
Our next FBYC Junior Newsletter will feature the 2015 coaches!
GO FBYC!
Mark Hayes, Junior Division Commander
Tags: juniorraceteam, junior