Nine Teams Ready For CMRC Spring Invitational
5/14/2010

Chicago, IL - The Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC) is pleased to announce a strong start to its series of ISAF Grade 3 match race events with nine teams entered this weekend in the CMRC Spring Invitational. Local and regional skippers and their teams will be joined by rivals from as far away as California and New Jersey in a format of single round-robin racing, followed by (weather permitting) Quarter-final, Semi-final and Final rounds of competition. Winner of the event also qualifies to be the Lake Michigan entry to the 2010 YRUGL Richardson Trophy Regatta, the Match Racing Championship for the Great Lakes to be held over October 8-10.

"We expect this to be a great kick-off to our Chicago regatta season," says CMRC Director Bill Hardesty. "Many of these teams have been training here already as well as elsewhere, so it could be a tough crowd."

Included in the field is the reigning champion of last year's season opener, 2010 Bacardi Cup winner and CMRC founder Don Wilson and his team of Bill Hardesty on Main, Matt Cassidy on Jib, and Hans Pusch on the Bow. They will be challenged by the following teams: Mark Johnson of the Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club in Appleton, WI, who will have Dierk Polzin on Main, John Powell on Jib, and Mory Matias on the Bow; Steven Lowery of the Northshore YC in Highland Park, IL, sailing with Rory Lewis on Main, Derrick Lewis on Jib, and JT Charles on the Bow; Guy Mossman of the Carolina YC in Mt. Pleasant, SC, winner of this year's CMRC Key West Invitational, sailing with Mike Buckley on Main, Chris Welch on Jib, and Hayden Goodrick on the Bow; Chris Nesbitt of Solana Beach, CA, sailing with Brian Janey on Main, Travis Wilson on Jib, and Patrick McMath on the Bow; Robert 'Sam' Sansome of the MORF fleet in Chicago, IL, sailing with John Dybas on Main, Tony Bowler on Jib, and Marco Caporaso on the Bow; Danielle Soriano from Island Heights YC in Brielle, NJ and her crew of Pete Holtz on Main, August Voegeli on Jib, and Rob Morton on the Bow; Jennifer Wilson of CMRC sailing with Sally Barkow on Main, Tod Reynolds on Jib, Niki Anderson on the Bow and Krista Paxton as a Floater; and another CMRC local, Chris Wurtz, with Don Massey on Main, Tom Schlosser on Jib, and Kyle McVane on the Bow.

Another important element to the success of CMRC events is the umpiring talent led by Chief Umpire Tom Rinda of St Petersburg, FL, and the Race Committee team led by Principal Race Officer Bill Canfield of St Thomas, USVI.

Racing will be held in the CMRC's identically-matched TOM 28 class yachts, near the entrance to Belmont Harbor, with starts each day intended for 9:00 AM. Shoreside activities including competitor briefings, press conferences, umpire debriefs and awards ceremonies will be held before and after racing in and around the CMRC floating regatta center moored at the North end of Belmont Harbor.

For more information about the CMRC Spring Invitational, stop by CMRC or contact CMRC Director of Marketing and Programming Beth Paul on 312-542-1505 or visit www.chicagomatchrace.com.

About CMRC:

The Chicago Match Race Center was founded to promote and grow the sport of match race sailing. Besides being used in the America's Cup, match race sailing has recently also been adapted as a Women's discipline in the 2012 Olympic Games. As part of its mission to provide the highest-level match racing training facility for professional and amateur sailors in the US, CMRC has procured a fleet of Elliott 6M class boats, the type that will be used in the Games, and will use them to train and race teams with Olympic aspirations. Additionally, the CMRC retains a full fleet of TOM 28 class boats and all umpire and support boats needed to run international-caliber regattas. The 2010 Regatta schedule will feature multiple ISAF Grade 3 events beginning in May, as well as the Grade 2 Chicago Match Cup in August, while also hosting the Richardson Tr