Larry White Junior Olympic Regatta held at Niantic Bay
Jul. 17—EAST LYME — Sixty-one boats, featuring junior sailors from throughout southern New England, competed in the annual Larry White Junior Olympic Regatta on Thursday at Niantic Bay Yacht Club.
The regatta is one of several held throughout the country as part of U.S. Sailing's Junior Olympic Sailing Festival.
An instrumental advocate and contributor to junior sailing, Larry White is responsible for the growth of high school sailing throughout the U.S., including starting the sailing team at East Lyme High School.
For his efforts, White was awarded U.S. Sailing's most prestigious award, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, in 2005. White also held many roles as a U.S. Sailing volunteer, serving many positions on the committee and is most known for his successful 15-year presidency of the Interscholastic Sailing Association.
Focusing on green initiatives, the Larry White Regatta will be recognized by Sailors of the Sea with its silver designation for its environmental practices. To achieve this designation from this environmental organization, practices must include paperless entries, no single use water bottles, no plastics, an emphasis on recycling, signage from repurposed materials and nontoxic products for boat cleaning.
Ken Shluger, Sailing Academy president said: "We are not just teaching kids how to sail. We are teaching kids to appreciate the environment in which they sail and the importance of environmental stewardship. We want to ensure that our children and their children will have clean water and air."
Awards were given to the top three competitors in each category. Charles Holth of Niantic Bay took first place in the Opti Green fleet, Kate Van Berkel (New England Sailing and Science) took first place in the Opti RWB fleet, Avery Peterson and Wells Connor (Sachem's Head Yacht Club) finished first in the RS Feva fleet and Ike Schutz and Sam Karlson (New England Sailing and Science) took first place in the C420 fleet.
