cid:9154D27F-D5E7-40BD-9FEF-A3694816143E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jan Harley, Media Pro Int'l for Rolex Watch U.S.A., 401.849.0220
or Marlieke Eaton, US SAILING, 401.441.3948
TERRY HUTCHINSON AND ANNA TUNNICLIFFE ARE
US SAILING's 2008 ROLEX YACHTSMAN AND YACHTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (January 7, 2009) - TP52 World Champion Terry Hutchinson
and Laser Radial Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe today were named US
SAILING's 2008 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. A shortlist of
nine male and five female sailors - determined from nominations submitted by
members of US SAILING - was evaluated by a panel of sailing journalists who
selected these two sailors for the noteworthy distinction. Members of the
panel agreed that it had been "quite a year" for American sailors.
Established in 1961 by US SAILING and sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. since
1980, the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards recognize the
outstanding on-the-water competitive achievement of an individual man and
woman in the calendar year just concluded. The winners will be honored and
presented with specially engraved Rolex timepieces during a luncheon on
February 27, 2009, at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan.
Rolex Yachtsman of the Year - Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) has been
named the 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, earning the coveted award on the
fourth time he was shortlisted for the honor. Members of the selection
panel remarked that in 2008 Hutchinson had "redefined himself" after he
"emerged from the America's Cup to be an awesome fleet racer." (He was
tactician aboard Emirates Team New Zealand in the 32nd America's Cup).
Hutchinson got the year rolling as tactician aboard Jim Richardson's Farr 40
Barking Mad, which won Acura Key West and Acura Miami Grand Prix.
Switching to the TP52 and moving into the skipper's position, Hutchinson
racked up four major victories in Europe, including the Trophy of Sardinia
and Copa del Rey regattas, which led to his overall win of the Audi MedCup
series. A month later, in Spain, Hutchinson crowned his stand-out season in
the class by winning the TP52 World Championship aboard Quantum Racing.
"It is so hard to excel in different classes," said one member of the
selection panel, who added that Hutchinson "beat a great number of
competitors in a variety of boats." Top performances included his M30 class
win at the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD Regatta; Melges 24 victories at
the North American Championship and the Sperry Top-Sider St. Petersburg NOOD
Regatta; and a third-place finish at the Melges 32 Gold Cup.
"This award is obviously an acknowledgement of a great year on the water,"
said Hutchinson. "But I would be incredibly remiss if I didn't acknowledge
that it is a privilege to represent the bigger picture - the people I sail
with and the teams on which I compete. I feel so strongly about the support
they gave me; this wasn't just my achievement, it was the Barking Mad, Samba
Pa Ti and Quantum Racing teams' too. Every morning I get up and go to work
doing something that I love. Being recognized is just icing on the cake."
Accomplished sailor Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.), who passed away
January 2, 2009, also received top rankings by panel members. Scandone,
winning skipper of the SKUD-18 Gold Medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games, had
fought a valiant battle with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease) in
order to make it to China. While ALS ravaged his body, his determination to
succeed won him legions of admirers as his unrelenting drive to attain his
goal brought attention to disabled sailing and the sport overall.
"How could you not be moved by Nick's story?" said Hutchinson. "When you
compare what any of the nominees did this year to the struggle that Nick had
in order to achieve the same kind of accomplishments. To win a gold medal
while going through the battle he had . . . there are no words that describe
Nick's effort and determination."
Born and raised in Annapolis, Hutchinson first learned to sail at age three
in a Dyer Dhow that was attached by a line to his parent's Concordia yawl.
Going back and forth on the end of that line set him on a course to be a
college star at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) where he earned
Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) All-American honors four times
(1987, '88, '89, '90) and was twice recognized as the College Sailor of the
Year ('89 and '90). The 40-year-old father of three will next be seen
aboard Barking Mad at Acura Key West Race 2009.
Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year - Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) has been
named the 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. Nominated to the award's
shortlist for the fourth consecutive year, she was the unanimous choice of
the panel, all of whom ranked her first in the voting that determines the
honoree. Cited by one panelist for "an unbelievable year" culminating with
victory in China, Tunnicliffe rose in the world rankings in the Laser Radial
class as she worked toward fulfilling her goal of winning a gold medal at
the Olympic Games.
"I'm very, very excited," said Tunnicliffe on hearing that she was the 2008
Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. "It's a fantastic end to a great year."
Two performances that stood out for her as she reflected on events leading
up to the competition in China included her win at the Delta Lloyd Regatta
in The Netherlands and Kieler Woche in Germany. "The first event gave me
the confidence that I could win in a good fleet," said Tunnicliffe. "It got
me used to seeing a dot on my sail (colored dots - primarily used at the
Olympic Regatta - identify the top-three fleet leaders during the
competition), so I didn't feel the pressure from carrying them when I got to
the Games. At Kiel I did poorly (finishing 14th out of 82 boats) and had
three black-flag penalties. I had been working on my starts and was getting
over-confident. That gave me a wake-up call that you can't push the line
that much."
While warming up for the main event of her year, Tunnicliffe racked up some
serious frequent flyer miles: from Florida and US SAILING's Rolex Miami
OCR, where she finished second in a fleet of 39 boats, to New Zealand, where
she placed sixth out of 116 boats at the Laser Radial World Championship, to
France and the Semaine Olympique Francaise, where she picked up another
second in that fleet of 78 boats.
Tunnicliffe arrived in China for the Olympic Games ranked number one in the
world in the Laser Radial. After two races on the first competition day she
carried a gold dot on her sail to signal her position as the fleet leader.
After race five she slipped down to third in the 28-boat fleet before moving
up to second overall after race six, which was completed in challengingly
heavy winds. She followed a 15th-place finish in race seven with a pair of
deuces, guaranteeing her place on the podium with only the medal color
undecided. During the medal race on the final day of competition,
Tunnicliffe fell back to ninth in the fleet before her correct read of a
wind shift allowed her to regain lost ground. She crossed the finish line
in second place to become a gold medalist at her first Olympic Games.
"Winning the Olympic medal was a dream, and branching out to other boats and
expanding myself as a sailor is one of my goals. I want to win another gold
medal for the U.S.A., but I think it will take more than just Laser
sailing."
To that end her post-Olympic schedule has included a triathlon, some match
racing (she won the ISAF Nations Cup Regional Final and the U.S. Women's
Match Racing Championship, sailed, respectively, in J/22s and Sonars), and a
return to dinghy sailing (she was second at the Snipe Women's World
Championship in Spain). As 2008 drew to a close she once again showed her
winning form in the Laser Radial by kicking off her training for the 2012
Olympics with a victory in Australia at Sail Melbourne, the first event in
the inaugural ISAF Sailing World Cup.
The 26-year-old Tunnicliffe first came to national attention in 1997 as the
youngest skipper in US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat
Championship. The native of England, then 14 years old, finished 13th among
36 teams representing eight nations. The Tunnicliffe family - her dad is a
competitive sailor and mom a competitive marathon runner - sailed out of
North Cape Yacht Club in Michigan. "I definitely get my competitiveness
from my parents," she said upon being named the 2005 Quantum Female College
Sailor of the Year. That recognition capped her college sailing career at
Old Dominion University where she earned ICSA All-American honors three
times (2003, '04, '05). Up next on Tunnicliffe's busy schedule, as she
continues her Laser Radial campaign, is competing at US SAILING's Rolex
Miami OCR in late January.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup
defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged
excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including US
Sailing Team AlphaGraphics preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled
sailing, offshore, one-design and women's events.
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing
body for sailing. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode
Island, the organization provides leadership for the sport of sailing in the
United States. US SAILING offers training and education programs for
instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing
organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and
provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the
country, including National Championships and the U.S. Olympic and
Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit
www.ussailing.org <http://www.ussailing.org/> .
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