By Isabella Perez
Ghislaine van Empel, the captain of South Florida’s sailing team, has qualified for the SAISA Singlehanded National Championship. The competition, which is taking place Nov. 7-8 in New York, is one of the seven national sailing competitions at the collegiate level.
Of the 18 sailors that qualify for the competition, 12 of the sailors, which include van Empel, are selected by the National Championship Selection Committee based on their overall season results and collegiate resume.
“It is definitely a great feeling to qualify for nationals,” van Empel told The Crow’s Nest. “It is going to be my first time in New York… I’m really excited to go out there and experience the city and hopefully race well”.
van Empel, a senior who came to USF from Rotterdam, Netherlands, is one of just six sailors in South Florida’s sailing program history to earn a bid for the national championship.
Prior to her selection to the national championship, van Empel competed in the SAISA Singlehanded Conference Championship, marking her first time in over eight years racing in the ILCA 6 boat.
After a difficult start, van Empel finished the competition with three straight race wins and finished third overall after nine races. Her result, however, did not immediately qualify her for the national championship.
“I had no expectations going into the qualifier and, I did pretty well in the end, but I did not think it was enough to qualify for nationals,” said van Empel. “When I saw that I qualified, I was very surprised.”
Head coach Allison Jolly, who accompanied van Empel during the conference championship, also felt surprised at van Empel’s national championship bid.
“[van Empel] did not have a lot of preparation time, but mentally, she was so focused and so ready,” coach Jolly told The Crow’s Nest. “… Because she finished third we both thought, “Oh, there is not going to be much chance”, and I had dismissed it as well. But the selection committee looks at your college sailing record, and they looked at who she raced against to be third.”
Despite van Empel’s unexpected bid, herself along with coach Jolly feel she is as prepared as she can be for the competition. Unlike the standard two-person boat, this competition is single sailing; something van Empel has many years of experience even before her time at South Florida.
“I am actually used to sailing alone, I have my own boat,” van Empel explained. “…So, for me, it is sometimes easier to sail alone, because I do not have to think about the other person in the boat and I can just get into my own headspace.”
Despite the individual nature of the singlehanded competition, coach Jolly, who has been coaching USF since 2004, has continued to foster a sense of community within the team.
Throughout her tenure, she has seen her share of students come and go into the team. Still, her close relationship with her students reflects in competitions like these.
“The boat that she qualified in was chartered to her by a former teammate,” said coach Jolly. “…It is really fun to see that, even after people graduate, or even if they go to different schools, the USF bond is very strong.”
Sailing is still the only sport which takes place in the St. Petersburg campus at USF, and for coach Jolly and the members of the team, the student and alumni support, combined with the close relationships between the team members, has a great impact on the team.
Ultimately van Empel, as the representative for USF at this national stage, there is a sense of pride being brought to her.
“I’m super happy to be competing,” said van Empel. “There are so many good schools up north, so being from the south is having to fight a little bit harder to be seen, I think. That’s also why it is so special to be competing at this event.”
