P1 Superstock: P1 counting down to launch of record championship season

USA Superstock
New venues, rising competitor numbers, increased TV coverage and a new commercial partnership underpin series expansion on both sides of the Atlantic

P1, the world’s biggest marine motorsport brand, has announced a record race season this year for its SuperStock powerboats and AquaX personal watercraft series in both in the USA and UK. A 70-race international calendar will get underway at Daytona Beach on the weekend of April 26/27 and the 6-event USA season will include Jacksonville for the first time, with another high-profile venue to be announced later this month.

The expansion of the USA race programme has attracted 10 SuperStock teams, including 2013 champions Andy Biddle and Tracy Blumenstein, and some 50 AquaX riders. P1 launched its AquaX series in the USA last year with just 7 competitors battling the Daytona surf, and next weekend the fleet of jet skis will have the water to itself with the SuperStock boats not starting their season until the middle of May in Stuart.

P1 Superstock: Lycamobile Group agrees new partnership with expanding P1 race series General News

P1 has announced a record race season this year for its SuperStock powerboats and AquaX personal watercraft brands in both the UK and USA. Details of the 70-race calendar, which makes P1 the world’s largest marine motorsport brand, and a new commercial partnership with the Lycamobile Group were released at a launch event on Friday, 28 March at London’s Royal Victoria Dock.

A 5-venue UK season and expansion of P1’s race programme in the USA has attracted more than 20 SuperStock teams and some 100 AquaX riders. All the action will be broadcast in 24 half-hour weekly TV programmes from May to October domestically in the USA on MAVTV and Fox Sports Florida, reaching over 40 million homes, and in the UK on the region’s premier sports channel, Sky Sports. Internationally, P1 continues to deliver extensive broadcast distribution with more than 50 countries airing all the programmes on major network channels, including Fox Sports, ESPN, Ten Sports and Star Sports.

Lefevre, Eichfeld headline the list of 2014 Slalom World Championship qualifiers

 

USA Canoe/Kayak is proud to nominate the following athletes to the 2014 U.S. Slalom World Championship Team:

Men's K-1: Fabien Lefevre (Bethesda, Md.), Michal Smolen (Gastonia, N.C.), Rick Powell(Parkesburg, Pa.)

Women's K-1: Dana Mann (Washington, D.C.), Ashley Nee (Darnestown, Md.), Anna Maria Ifarraguerri (McLean, Va.)

Men's C-1: Fabien Lefevre (Bethesda, Md.), Casey Eichfeld (Drums, Pa.), Zach Lokken (Durango, Colo.)

Women's C-1: Colleen Hickey (Okawville, Ill.), Micki Reeves (Grand Junction, Colo.), Tracy Hines (Mount Holly, N.C.)

Men's C-2: Eichfeld/Devin McEwan (Salisbury, Conn.), Jeff Larimer (Marietta, Ga.)/Eric Hurd (Woodstock, Ga.), Benn Fraker (Peachtree City, Ga.)/Scott McCleskey (Sylva, N.C.)

The above athletes will compete at the ICF Slalom World Championships in McHenry, Md., Sept. 16-21, 2014.

Who: The best U.S. slalom athletes

What: 2014 USA Canoe/Kayak Slalom Team Trials

When: March 28-30

Where: U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Why is it important: This is the qualifier for the 2014 Slalom World Championships, which will be held on U.S. soil for the first time in 25 years.

Links: Results. Deep Creek 2014 World Championships.

The U.S. will field a veteran squad at the World Championships, including a combined 8 Olympic appearances. Fabien Lefevre, a two-time Olympic medalist for France, will be joined on Team USA by Olympians Casey Eichfeld (2012, 2008), Rick Powell (2008), Benn Fraker (2008), Jeff Larimer (2012) and Eric Hurd (2012).

Lefevre finished first in both men's K-1 and C-1 and will look to improve upon his 4th place finish at the 2013 World Championships. Michal Smolen and Zach Lokken will compete in both the Senior and Under-23 World Championships in Penrith, Australia.

"It was quite windy and that made runs complicated to paddle for the third race," Lefevre said. "My two first places yesterday in K-1 and C-1 for the last race allowed me to be the winner of the US National Trials. I'm very happy and proud to represent the US for another season! ... The US Team looks pretty similar compared with last season and that certainly creates a good atmosphere in the group. Technically speaking, I am satisfied with my races and get new leads to work on for the next few months."

In women's K-1, Dana Mann and Ashley Nee battled all weekend with Mann recording the fastest time on two of three days. Colleen Hickey ran away with top honors among women's canoes. Coming off their Gold Medal performance at the Oceania Championships, the C-2 pairing of Eichfeld and McEwan continued their momentum at Trials separating themselves from the rest of the field. Rarely competing since the 2012 season, Fraker, Hurd, and Larimer returned to the water to qualify for the World Championships in men's C-2.

"Slalom Trials accomplished it's first goal - to select the best team possible to represent the United States and ultimately achieve great results at the 2014 Slalom World Championships in Western MD," said USA Canoe/Kayak CEO Joe Jacobi. "Our top athletes performed extremely well and are making incredible strides on their racing. We are grateful to the U.S. National Whitewater Center for hosting an excellent event."

Previewing the 2014 USA Canoe/Kayak Slalom Team Trials

(Smolen paddling C-1 at the Oceania Championships. Credit: SportScene.tv)

 

Who: The best U.S. slalom athletes

What: 2014 USA Canoe/Kayak Slalom Team Trials
When: March 28-30
Where: U.S. National Whitewater Center in Bryson City, N.C.
Why is it important: This is the qualifier for the 2014 Slalom World Championships, which will be held on U.S. soil for the first time in 25 years.

For more info: Start lists. Results. Deep Creek 2014 World Championships.
Team USA hopes to crack the podium at the 2014 Slalom World Championships after recording two Top 5 finishes in 2013. The Adventure Sports Center International in McHenry, Md. will host the World Championships on Sept. 16-21.

But before that can happen, the best U.S. athletes will vie for the chance to represent their country on home turf in September. Western Maryland also hosted the World Championships in 1989, the last time the event was in America.

USA Canoe/Kayak announces the 2014 U.S. Junior and Under-23 Slalom Team

USA Canoe/Kayak is proud to nominate the following athletes to the 2014 U.S. Junior and Under-23 Slalom World Championship Team:

 U23

Men's K-1: Michal Smolen (Gastonia, N.C.), Simon Ranagan
Men's C-1: Zach Lokken (Durango, Colo.), Tyler Hinton (Denver, Colo.), Smolen

 Junior

Men's K-1: Tyler Uthus (Darneston, Md.), Tyler Smith (Huntersville, N.C.), Jordan Sherman
Men's C-1: Gabe Machado (Louisville, Colo.), Smith, Will Coggan (Boulder, Colo.)
Women's K-1: Evelyn Van Horn (Bellefonte, Pa.), Teagan Johnson-Moore (Lyons, Colo.)
Men's C-2: Will Coggan/Gabe Machado

The above athletes will compete at the ICF Canoe Slalom Jr. and U-23 World Championships in Penrith, Australia, April 23-27, 2014.

2014 Canoe Slalom Trials | U.S. National Whitewater Center

 

The U.S. National Whitewater Center will host the USA Canoe/Kayak National Team Trials on March 28-30, 2014. Athletes will compete for a chance to represent the U.S. in the 2014 World Championships. 2014 is especially significant to the athletes as the Worlds will be held in the U.S. for the first time since 1989.

Practice sessions will be held Monday, March 24th through Thursday, March 27^th from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. each day.  Deadline for registration is Sunday, March 23rd at 12 midnight.  Registration fees cover practice sessions and the race only and do not cover parking.  The race is scheduled  for March 28 – 30. There will be two official runs per day, taking place at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. The team will be chosen based on the results from all three days of racing.  Athletes will keep their four best runs out of six and must keep at least one run from each day.

Athletes will be racing in the following categories:

• Women’s Single Canoe (C1W)
• Women’s Single Kayak (K1W)
• Men’s Single Canoe (C1M)
• Men’s Double Canoe (C2M)
• Men’s Single Kayak (K1M)

The Team Trials will conclude with an awards ceremony on Sunday, March 30th at 2:00 p.m.

About Canoe Slalom
In Canoe Slalom, athletes must navigate their canoe or kayak through gates as they work their way through 300 meters of whitewater rapids in the fastest time possible. Hitting one of the hanging gates or missing one completely results in time penalties, which are added to the paddler’s time at the end of his/her run. A two-second penalty is given for a touched gate and a 50-second penalty if the gate is missed completely. There are approximately 18-24 hanging gates for each course. The gates are color-coded to indicate which direction the paddler must pass through. Green gates are negotiated heading downstream while red gates require the paddler to reverse direction and pass through them heading upstream.

More info; http://usnwc.org/

The Sydney sessions - 35th America's Cup

Photos, videos and stories from Sydney, where ORACLE TEAM USA and Team Australia are training, are coming online.

ORACLE TEAM USA sailing team manager and tactician Tom Slingsby is enthusiastic about his team's first days on the harbour.

“It’s a great venue. Sailing AC45s in Sydney Harbour hasn’t been done before and it’s an amazing backdrop. We’ve had a couple of great days of training against the new Australian team and it’s been going well.”

Team Australia skipper Mathew Belcher says having an opportunity to train with ORACLE TEAM USA will help the team get off to a running start.

“We’re slowly building our team up,” Belcher says. “There 10 days with Oracle will really give us a chance to get as many sailors into the boat as possible and for myself to come into the team and find out exactly where we are.”

Slingsby says ORACLE TEAM USA has three training camps scheduled over the coming months. “It keeps the team active and sailing together and coming to a place like Sydney Harbour is pretty easy to get motivated for.”

We’ll have more from Mat Belcher and Tom Slingsby as well as some other sailors, over the coming days.

Photos from both team photographers can be seen here

ORACLE TEAM USA has put up a profile of the team’s newest sailor, Andrew Campbell, here

Team Australia’s launch story is here

Update - 2014 Offshore Powerboat Racing Season Schedule

 

A quick update to the consolidated 2014 U.S. offshore powerboat racing season with races from organizers such as Super Boat International (SBI) and Offshore Powerboat Association (OPA).  Also, we cannot forget the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, where you can you see a boat like My Way run 224 mph.  Have a race event you want listed, send it to us and we will add it to the list!

	April
Apr 11-13	SBI - Charlotte Harbor Super Boat Grand Prix	Charlotte Harbor, FL
	May
May 2-4	OPA - Lake Hopatcong Grand Prix	Lake Hopatcong, NJ
May 16-18	SBI - 5th Annual Space Coast Super Boat Grand Prix	Cocoa Beach, FL
	June
June 20-22	OPA - Atlantic City Offshore Grand Prix	Atlantic City, NJ
	July
July 4-6	SBI - 30th Annual Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival	Sarasota, FL
July 25-27	OPA - St Clair River Classic Offshore Powerboat Race	St Clair, MI
	August
Aug 1-3	SBI - 6th Annual Super Boat Great Lakes Grand Prix	Michigan City, IN
Aug 8-10	OPA - International Offshore Powerboat Race	Port Huron, MI
Aug 15-24	Lake of the Ozarks Shootout	Lake of the Ozarks
Aug 20-24	SBI - 11th Annual Thunder on the Gulf	Orange Beach, AL
Aug 20-24	SBI - 1st Annual Pensacola Grand Prix	Pensacola, FL
Aug 22-24	OPA - Great Race on the Sea	TBA Long Island, NY​​
	September
Sept 5-7	24th Annual New York Grand Prix – Tribute to 911	New York, NY
Sept 12-14	OPA Nationals  - Solomons Offshore Grand Prix	Solomons, MD
Sept 26-28	6th Annual Clearwater Super Boat National Championship	Clearwater, FL
	October
October 3-5	OPA World Championships	Ocean City, MD
	November
Nov 2-9	34th Annual Key West World Championship	Key West, FL

Selection Events Released for 2015 US Pan American Games Team

Portsmouth, R.I. ( February 14, 2014)  - The US Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) has released the list of selection events for the 2015 United States Pan American Games Team, which will compete at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games. 

Pending approval by the US Olympic Committee (USOC), the top eligible team at the following events will qualify for the Pan American Games if the US has qualified as a country in the class.    

• RS:X Men: 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami (January 24-31, 2015)
• RS:X Women: 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami  (January 24-31, 2015)
• Sunfish: 2015 Sunfish Mid-Winters (Melbourne, Fla., March 20-22, 2015)
• Laser: 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami  (January 24-31, 2015)
• Laser Radial: 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami  (January 24-31, 2015)
• Hobie 16: 2014 North Americans (Lewes, Del., September 22-26, 2014)
• Lightning: 2015 Winter Championships (St. Petersburg, Fla., March 12-15, 2015)
• Snipe: Pan American Games Trials (San Diego, Calif., October 11-13, 2014)
• 49er FX: 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami  (January 24-31, 2015)
• J24: Pan American Games Trials (Marion, Mass. August 15-17, 2014)*

*If the United States does not qualify for a J24 berth at the 2014 J24 North American Championships, then the Trials will be held in Tampa, FL February 27-March 1, 2015.

Updates will be posted here:   http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Games/PAG.htm 

Calema celebrates 30 years in windsurfing with the 2014 Calema Midwinters Festival

 

Just over a month away Calema celebrates 30 years in windsurfing with the 2014 Calema Midwinters Festival at Kelly Park in Merritt Island, Florida.  The 2014 Calema Midwinters Festival to be held February 27th - March 2, 2014 will continue its tradition of bringing together World Cup Pros, One-Design Competitors, Olympic Class Competitors, Beginner sailors and all other levels in between.

The Calema Midwinters Festival will have classes for all skill levels and type of equipment – A Fleet // Sport Fleet // and Youth and Juniors classes to choose from along with Masters. Whether you like racing a formula, KONA, long or short board. 

The event once again promises to be an exciting one as it was last year.  We hope to see you on the water.

 More information; http://calema.com/calema-midwinters-2014/

The Key to 2014 Success | 52 Super Series

The curtain will rise on what promises to be an exciting 2014 52 SUPER SERIES season on Monday 20^th January when six 52s lines up on the famous race waters of Key West, Florida for the first regatta of the two events which form the US 52 SUPER SERIES.

 

Two European TP52s return to Quantum Key West Racing Week, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda flagged Azzurra and Niklas and Catherine Zennström’s world champions, Rán Racing.

The 2012 overall 52 SUPER SERIES champions Azzurra which narrowly won Key West least season see the return of talismanic Italian strategist Francesco Bruni.  Rán Racing will sail with past 470 world champion Nic Asher as strategist and have Steve Hayles – who took a sabbatical from the Rán 52 programme last year – back in the navigator’s hot seat.

Five for 35 – Names to look for in the 35th America’s Cup / America’s Cup

The 34^th America’s Cup opened up opportunities for a new breed of America’s Cup sailor. Fitter, younger, new to the game, but bursting with accomplishments in dinghy classes where going fast, and sailing on the edge were the daily routine.

Plenty of young sailors played prominent roles in this America’s Cup, including Kyle Langford, at 24 the youngest sailor in the event, who was thrust into a starring role as the wing trimmer on ORACLE TEAM USA.

Langford (AUS) will be sought after as teams begin recruiting for the next Cup. And here are five other names to look for as teams start assembling talent for the 35^th America’s Cup:

Australia’s Hamilton Island Yacht Club confirmed as Challenger of Record / America’s Cup

Hamilton Island Yacht Club (HIYC), located on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, has challenged for the 35th America’s Cup. HIYC’s challenge has been accepted by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which remains the Defender and Trustee of the world’s oldest international sporting trophy after its team, ORACLE TEAM USA owned by Larry Ellison, won the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco last Wednesday.

For the past three decades HIYC has run Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, which has become the largest annual regatta in Australia with some 200 offshore yachts competing in recent years.
HIYC is led by Australian winemaker and sailing legend Bob Oatley, whose succession of yachts named Wild Oats have dominated ocean racing in Australia for years, including having won six of the last eight Sydney-Hobart races. An Australian team led by Mr. Oatley won the last Admiral’s Cup, widely regarded as the world’s top prize in ocean racing.