Media Packet

HAMPTON, Va. – A press conference leading up to the MAISA/SAISA Intersectional Regatta has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, at 12 p.m. EST. The press conference will be held at the team meeting room at Armstrong Stadium.

The Hampton University sailing team will play host to the MAISA/SAISA Spring Intersectional Regatta at Strawberry Banks for the second straight year and for the third time in four years. The Pirates finished second in the regatta last spring, while recording a seventh-place effort in the 2007 regatta.

Charleston, S.C. was the site for the spring 2008 regatta, while Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. played host to the regatta in 2006.

The regatta will begin on Saturday, March 27, with the opening ceremonies at 8:30 a.m. Hampton will be joined by fellow MAISA schools George Washington, Maryland, Delaware, Old Dominion, the U.S. Naval Academy and Christopher Newport, while SAISA institutions UNC-Wilmington, Clemson, Eckerd, South Florida and College of Charleston will also compete. 

Four of the teams scheduled to compete in the MAISA/SAISA Intersectional are ranked nationally by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association and Sailing World. As of March 2, Charleston is No. 5 in the nation among co-ed teams, while Navy is No. 11, South Florida is No. 13 and ODU is No. 18.

The regatta will coincide with a clinic for local high school and middle school students, which will teach them about the sport of sailing, while simultaneously spreading the word about the Pirates' squad – a team that won a regatta in the fall 2009 season and recorded two other top-three finishes.

The Pirates won The Webb Regatta at Christopher Newport on Oct. 24-25, while also finishing second in the Henry Luce Regatta on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and third in the bay Days Regatta on Oct. 10-11 under the direction of first-year head coach Alessandro Ambrosi.

A DJ will be present during the weekend providing entertainment during the regatta, and a commentator will be stationed shoreside to provide an explanation of events.

To RSVP for Wednesday's press conference, please call Jeff Cunningham in the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or email him at jeffrey.cunningham@hamptonu.edu by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16.

For more information on Hampton University sailing, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.