All Junior Sailors ages 8 to 18 are encouraged to join the Sandusky Junior Race Team.  Sandusky Junior Race Team members are encouraged to become junior members of  Sandusky Sailing Club. The Race Team competes in single-handed boats: the Optimist, Laser Radial, and Laser full rig classes.  Double-handed competition is in the Club 420 and CFJ classes and the Thistle provides triple-handed competition.  Team Race practices are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Sandusky Sailing Club beginning on the water at 5:30 PM.  Team members also have the opportunity to compete on Wednesday in one design or auxiliary races.  The Junior Race Team will be competing in the I-LYA Travelers Series again this year.  Opportunity to compete is provided almost every Saturday.

Team members who turn 13 in the calendar year are also eligible to compete at I-LYA Junior Bay Week.  This five-day event is the quarter final of the Smythe, Bemis, and Sears Cup: the national single, double, and triple-handed junior championships.  This event is scheduled for July 13-17, 2008. The 2007 season found 6 Junior Race Team Members receiving trophies Bay Week.   Tyler Brand advanced to the Area E finals in the Smythe Division and Leah McRitchie and Natalie Schaefer advanced in the Bemis Division.

Sandusky Junior Race Team began their 2007 racing season at the Vermilion BC Ice Breaker on May 27th and ended their season on August 18th at Edgewater YC.  Junior Race Team members also sailed in other high level events like, the Junior Interlake Nationals on July 25th hosted by SSC, the Area E Semi-Finals in Rochester, New York on July 30-31st, and the I-LYA Opti Championship at Edgewater on August 4th. Some of our junior sailors extended their racing season by participating in Junior Olympic Sailing events at Macatawa Bay, Michigan on October 6-7, and the River Romp, Fort Meyers, Florida on the 20-21st of October.  Congratulations to all Team members for a successful season and winning the Team I-LYA Travelers Series Award for the 2007 season.  The 27-team members raced in over seventeen regattas bringing home 69 trophies! The 2007 Junior Sailors are listed below by class.

Opti:  Drew Arlint, Drew Blackburn, Harry Foley, Elizabeth Hill, McKinsey Kaufman, Dylan Martz, Charlie Potokar, Max Potokar, Jacob Riedy, Ryan Singler, Will Toldy
Laser Radial: Katie Brand, Emily McAllister
Laser: Tyler Brand, Scott Doller, Kyle McLaughlin
CFJ:  Tommy Irwin and Nathan Schaefer
C420: Rachel Austin and AJ Boissoneault, Lorrain Boissoneault and Lily Everson, Emily Haubert and Farin Blackburn, Ryan Kyle and Gus Everson, Leah McRitchie and Natalie Schaefer.

Coaches returning for the 2008 season will be Anthony Gardner, Thomas McRitchie, and Caitlin Kyle.

Support from parents, members, and the Flag of SSC and SYC make this team successful.  Thank you all and good luck to the SJRT in 2008.

For further information, contact Nancy McRitchie at (419) 656-1371 (mobile) or email: