My family has been members of the Cleveland Yachting Club since before I was born and I have spent my entire life sailing under the CYC Burgey. From my early days of competitive sailing at the I-LYA Travelers Series regattas around Lake Erie and nearby lakes to my current Olympic Campaign taking me around the globe, The Cleveland Yachting Club has been the foundation, inspiration and the hub of my support network!
The first time I got into a racing dinghy, I was at Cleveland Yachting Club in their summer sail camp and on day 1 of sailing in the Optimist Dinghy, I realized that on a boat is where I belonged. The staff at CYC’s sail camp supported my development and encouraged me to begin racing in the club’s “series races” at camp. When they saw that I was successful at these local races, they encouraged me to start travelling to I-LYA regattas. From there, I sailed at regional and national Optimist Class (USODA) events, eventually qualified for the US National Optimist Sailing Team (USNT) and travelled overseas to represent CYC and the USA at events throughout Europe, South America and Obviously North America as well. If it was not for the support and encouragement of the counsellors and coaches at Cleveland Yachting Club, I would not be a member of the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider today pursuing my dreams of becoming an Olympic Athlete at the Rio Games in 2016.
This month, The Cleveland Yachting Club featured me in their monthly newsletter, The Islander. This newsletter is mailed to all club members around the country and is published on line on the club’s Website.
I own my love for sailing and the path that I have been on throughout my sailing career to the foundation I received at CYC Sail Camp. My friends and all of the members at Cleveland Yachting Club that continue to support my campaign and my efforts to win Olympic Gold in Sailing have made my training and competition possible and will be forever grateful to everyone from CYC for their support and dedication to my success. When I come home from Rio with Olympic Gold, it will surely be on display in the clubhouse as motivation to the next generation to world class sailors learning how to sail at our club!
Please support my campaign by donating through TACKK at http://tackk.com/hysaxt for larger tax-deductible controbutions, please call me directly at 216-210-3598 or email me.