Historic Yacht Club to Host US Sailing Championships

In less than two months, the American Yacht Club is hosting the US Disabled Sailing Championships for the Independence Cup. The event will take place at the club’s location in Rye, New York, as part of US Sailing’s National Championships programme.

Registration for the event is open to any sailor with a physical disability, in addition to meeting the eligibility requirements. The first Independence Cup was held in 1990 and hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club. This is the first year for a different sailing organization to take over the contest, beginning a plan to have a new head of the event each year.

Regatta Co-Chair Bill Sandberg sees this as an opportunity to get others aware of the sailors with a disability and the relatively new competitors in an old traditional sport. “Sailing is one of the only sports in the world where athletes with a disability can compete with able-bodied people as equal competitors,” he said.