The USF St Petersburg sailing team is ranked 18th in the nation. Coach Allison Jolly said the team has the potential to reach the top 10 this year.
Changing tides and unpredictable winds can be crucial to a sailor’s success, but that hasn’t slowed down USF St. Petersburg’s sailing team.
Coach Allison Jolly, the gold medalist in the Olympics’ first women’s sailing event in 1988, sees the team’s potential to rank in the top 10 this season.
In fall 2014, the team won the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Championship and in 2011 made top nationals, finishing 8th in the country. The Bulls ranked 18th last May.
Athletes from both USF Tampa and USF St. Petersburg make up the women’s varsity sailing team. The club sport team at the St. Petersburg campus is open for men and women.
All beginning and experienced sailors workout, practice and compete at the same time on the water. This fall, there are 33 women on the women’s varsity team and 18 men on the coed club sport team.
Together the teams represent USF in the SAISA. The newest rankings will be released this week as the teams have already held two regattas, or competitions, this season. There are 27 schools that will compete in the SAISA.
The bulls will be hosting their first regatta at home this fall on Saturday, Sept. 26, starting at 10 a.m. The season will continue through May.
Twelve of the sailors will be competing at the home regatta against rival Florida schools, including the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Miami.
Jolly said that all athletes need their brain to succeed at any sport, but “you really need it in sailing,” she said. She compares the sport to a game of chess.
Two people leave the harbor, demonstrating the traditional sailing technique. A skipper steers the boat while a crew pulls the sails and balances the boat using body weight.
Sailors race on small boats that require two people at a time. The skipper steers the boat while the (one-person) crew pulls in the sails and balances the boat with his or her weight.
A regatta consists of a series of races. Ideally, regattas include 10 races that last 15-20 minutes, but the duration depends on the unpredictable push of the wind. Not only is the sport about being fast, but sailors also have to analyze the best way to navigate the course.
“You’ve got all your moves and you’ve figured out what you’re going to do and then all of a sudden someone moves the chessboard and all your pieces are in a different place,” Jolly said. “It’s like that on the water in terms of tactic and strategy.”
Unlike other sport teams at USF, the sailing team does not receive athletic scholarship awards, which has become a controversial subject.
The team does, however, have three Academic All-American competitors this season; seniors: Mary Lauren Guidi, biology; Sara Simon, mechanical engineering; and Darcy Jensen, international business. The recognition is given to sailors whose skills not only exceed on the water, but also in the classroom, given their outstanding grade point averages.
Follow event results online or join the team by the sea wall, equipped with lawn chairs and refreshments to watch the sailors through the afternoon.
Students can also check out kayaks at the Waterfront, seven days a week # 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
