US Sailing Team - Under 18

Selected annually, the US Sailing Team – U18 is one of US SAILING’s new Olympic class development teams. These top youth athletes are identified as future Olympic prospects who are transitioning from youth programs to the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program. US SAILING provides the U18 team with elite-level coaching, as well as educational, administrative and logistical support throughout the year. US SAILING assists these team members in gaining invaluable experience by competing at major national and international regattas.

The 2009 US Sailing Team – U18 includes the top sailors in the Laser Radial (boys), Laser Radial (girls), 29er (open) and I420 (boys or girls) classes, who were born after January 1, 1991. US SAILING selected these top athletes based on outstanding sailing resumes, including regatta results and awards as well as a proposed training plan for the 2009 season.

The 2009 US Sailing Team – U18 is led by elite coaches, including US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Coach Leandro Spina for the doublehanded classes and Bern Noack for the singlehanded classes. These coaches work closely with US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics High Performance Director/ Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Coach Luther Carpenter, as well as US SAILING’s Performance Enhancement Team (PET). The PET includes physical trainers, dietitians and sports psychologists, who assist the sailors at training camps and some events.

LaserPerformance is an official sponsor of the U18 team. Applications will be available for the 2010 team in November 2009, and the teams will be selected in January or February 2010.