With 200 days remaining until the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, US Sailing, the national governing body for the sport, has named 21 of America’s best sailors to the 2016 US Sailing Team Sperry, the national sailing team. While the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams, which will be selected later in 2016, are selected every four years, the US Sailing Team Sperry is selected annually.
Additional athletes will be named to the US Sailing Team Sperry on January 30, 2016. The US Sailing Team Sperry is separate from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, which will be named later in 2016, after approval by the USOC.
The team is comprised of multiple American athletes and teams in the ten Olympic and three Paralympic sailing classes. Additional sailors will qualify for the roster after Sailing World Cup Miami, North America’s premier Olympic and Paralympic classes regatta (Jan 25-30).
“US Sailing Team Sperry athletes have worked hard over the past three years as they have trained for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “Earning a spot on the national team roster is a sign of progress and skill in their chosen class, and of their commitment to pursuing high performance while representing their country.”
With the series of U.S. Olympic Sailing Team selection events set to begin in Miami in late January, and with the Paralympic Team selection series already underway, the names on the US Sailing Team Sperry roster offer insight into who is excelling as American sailors enter a pivotal period of the four-year Olympic cycle. For sailors pursuing dreams of the podium, becoming a part of the national team is an achievement with clear benefits.
“It’s a priority to make the US Sailing Team Sperry each year, since the team has a lot to offer athletes that are campaigning for the Games,” said Laser Radial sailor Erika Reineke (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). “We get world-class coaching and resources, and a team atmosphere that helps us improve. At our training camps, the other American sailors are definitely trying to individually get faster and beat each other, but it’s a learning process that helps everybody.”
Two-time Olympian Stu McNay (Providence, R.I.), one of the team’s veteran leaders, agreed. “Being on the national team is a signifier of the time, effort, and commitment to achievement that we have all put forward. I’m proud to be on this team with other athletes who have dedicated themselves to a similar pursuit.”
A major US Sailing Team supporter for decades, Sperry has been the team’s title partner since 2012. “Sperry has such a legacy in water sports, and we’re all proud that they’re a part of this team,” said 49erFX athlete Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.). “The US Sailing Team Sperry supports us at every stage in our journey, from our first years in the boat, through the Olympic Team selection events, and hopefully to the Games. We’re proud to represent our national team, and a truly great brand, as we compete around the world.”
US Sailing Team Sperry: 2016 Roster
2.4mR (Paralympic One-Person Keelboat)
Dee Smith (Annapolis, Md.)
Men’s 470 (Men’s Two-Person Dinghy)
Stuart McNay (Providence, R.I.) and David Hughes (Miami, Fla.)
Women’s 470 (Women’s Two-Person Dinghy)
Annie Haeger (East Troy, Wisc.) and Briana Provancha (San Diego, Calif.)
49er (Men’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff)
Brad Funk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Trevor Burd (Marblehead, Mass.)
49erFX (Women’s Two-Person High Performance Skiff)
Paris Henken (Coronado, Calif.) and Helena Scutt (Kirkland, Wash.)
Finn (Men’s One-Person Heavyweight Dinghy)
Caleb Paine (San Diego, Calif.)
Laser (Men’s One-Person Dinghy)
Chris Barnard (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Laser Radial (Women’s One-Person Dinghy)
Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
Nacra 17 (Mixed Two-Person Multihull)
Sarah Newberry (Miami, Fla.) and Matthew Whitehead (Panama City, Fla.)
Men’s RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer)
Pedro Pascual (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Women’s RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer)
Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)
SKUD-18 (Paralympic Two-Person Keelboat)
Ryan Porteous (Pacific Beach, Calif.) and Maureen McKinnon (Marblehead, Mass.)
Sonar (Paralympic Three-Person Keelboat)
Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Brad Kendell (Tampa, Fla.) and Hugh Freund (South Freeport, Maine)
