October 19, 2007, Yarmouth, Maine: North Yarmouth Academy’s (NYA) sailing team will travel to New Orleans for the national title races at the Great Oaks Regatta November 9 - 11. This is the first year NYA has had a sailing team, and they are one of only two New England teams to qualify for the national championships (the other is from Marblehead High School in Massachusetts). There are currently eleven members of the NYA team, which races 420’s. Going to New Orleans is Bradley Abbott (senior, Scarborough), Garrett Bowne (junior, Falmouth), Kate McDonald (sophomore, South Freeport) and Evan Siepert (junior, Cape Elizabeth).
All four athletes going to nationals have been sailing since they were very young (McDonald’s first sailing experience was as an infant), and they all have prior racing experience. The NYA team races as part of the SailMaine program, a non-profit organization that provides boats, coaches and practice space to school teams and individuals in an effort to promote sailing in the area. Last year, Bowne and Abbott raced as part of SailMaine’s team of high school sailors whose schools do not have sailing programs. This fall, Abbott approached Athletic Director Jeff Thoreck about NYA having a team for the fall season. Thoreck agreed, and NYA now has a varsity and junior varsity sailing team.
The team qualified for the national championships at the Casco Bay Fall Open in early September and continues to do well. They defeated twenty others from New England at the 2007 NESSA (New England Schools Sailing Association) Fall Funfest in Boston on October 7, where they came in first place, winning the Gleekman Trophy. At the USCGA Fall Invite in New London, CT last weekend, they came in fifth. They practice in the water three days a week at SailMaine’s facility on the Eastern Prom in Portland, and they have dry land training twice a week where they run and work on upper body strength. Abbott explained, "The SailMaine program provides an excellent training experience for racing. There are over twenty boats and fifty kids racing every day, so we can practice in a real race environment."
There will be only three teams from New England in New Orleans. McDonald said she is "really, really excited" about the trip and predicts that the NYA team will really come together and do very well.
North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades 6 through 12. NYA is dedicated to fostering integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, please contact NYA at 207-846-2380 ext. 9327.