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This fall the SailPack welcomes back returning student-athletes and looks forward to meeting sailors new to NC State. After hosting a successful summer community sailing series, veteran NC State Wolfpack sailors are already active getting the boathouse and fleet cleaned, prepped and ready to start training for the Fall 2017 ICSA College Sailing season. Racing orientation sessions, tryouts and practices start in late August, and our first regatta is less than a month away from the start of classes. It's fast and furious return to action for NC State Sailing.
On-water Racing Orientation Sessions:
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2:30 pm – 6 pm (Pickup at Carmichael @ 2PM)
Friday, August 25th, 2:30 pm - 6 pm (Pickup at Carmichael @ 2PM)
Classroom Information Session (aka 1st Sailing Club meeting):
Thursday, August 24th, 7:30PM (Carmichael, Room 2036)
TRYOUTS:
Saturday, August 26th
10AM - 12PM - Carmichael Gym, classroom 2036.
1PM - 4PM - Lake Crabtree on the water tryouts
*** Transportation for events at the Lake will be provided. Meetup/Pickup is located at the benches in the parking lot of Carmichael Gymnasium. Rides will generally leave 30 minutes before the listed start time. To tryout, you must attend Saturday's classroom and lake session. ***
Spectators at NC State's SailPack Oriental Intercollegiate Regatta held in April in Oriental, NC
Race team tryouts will be held on Saturday, August 26th on campus and at Lake Crabtree where seniors and coaches will evaluate prospective sailors based on their overall boat handling skills, their competitiveness and racing acumen, their level of participation and drive, as well as overall fit with the team. Key characteristics that qualified sailors will possess include hard work, a positive attitude, commitment to fitness, commitment to team success, good sportsmanship and - of course - the ability to maintain their good grades. NC State has had sailors make the ICSA All-Academic team the past two seasons and a team GPA of over 3.4. Wolfpack sailors work and train hard.
"This past year was a banner year for both the race team and the sailing club," said senior skipper and race team captain Kara Wheeler (Oriental, NC). "An aggressively competitive regatta schedule and a whole slate of club-wide sailing events have us all hyped for the fall season."
In advance of tryouts, interested students will be given the opportunity to learn, train and get used to the boats and sailing style in on-water orientation sessions led by returning seniors on the team. Prospective sailors should wear appropriate clothing or bathing suits, non-marking soled shoes or dinghy boots, and sunscreen. (Sailors are also asked to bring their own refillable water bottles as the NC State sailing program is a committed 11th Hour Racing sustainable sailing program!) PFDs will be provided, but students may bring their own. Transportation to and from the lake will also be provided with pickups at Carmichael Gym 30 minutes before the listed start time.
The NC State Offshore Sailing Team is another way to be involved in intercollegiate competition.
"On-water orientation sessions help introduce college sailing to new sailors and introduce the basics of what they'll need to make the team," said NC State volunteer head coach Dana Magliola, now entering his 6th year with the program. "It will be warm-ups for some, a return to dinghies for some sailors who've been racing bigger boats over the summer, and others will be learning new skills relevant to college sailing. In the end, we aim to build a strong, high-performing team, both culturally and on the water."
The primary goal of tryouts is to ensure that those sailors who are committed to race team are given the full resources available from the program to train and improve during their time competing in college sailing. With the growth and success of the co-ed squad in the past few years, as well as the development of the women's program, developing a more formal roster will be a logical next step for the sailing program. Final rosters will be announced the week following tryouts. The Sailing Club at NC State, the parent organization of our race team, also provides learning and sailing opportunities for those students interested in sailing and less-formal racing opportunities.
Prospective sailors can learn more about Sailing at NC State, as well as college sailing and racing through the following resources:
Books:
Getting Started in Sailboat Racing by Adam Court, Richard Stearns
Start to Win by Eric Twiname
Sail, Race and Win by Eric Twiname and Cathy Foster
The Tactics of Small Boat Racing by Stuart Walker
ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing
