George Washington University Athletics
Legault Competes Internationally for USA
9/7/2018 3:10:00 PM | Sailing
The senior was one of six sailors who represented the U.S. in Italy
Over the summer, senior Riley Legault of the GW sailing team got a taste of international competition as she represented the United States in the LaserPerformance Collegiate Cup (LPCC). The event, which first took place in 2015, is an annual international movement to introduce team racing to university-age students and academic institutions around the world. Since the inaugural year, the event has taken place in Torbole, Italy (2016), and Campione del Garda, Italy (2017), and returned to Torbole in 2018.
The LPCC aims to provide the highest level of competition to as many young sailors as possible. It provides sailors from various backgrounds with a place to meet and share their experiences and ideas. Teams are offered the opportunity to participate in a development clinic with world-class team race coaches before the event to acclimatize sailors to the boats, venue and racing style.
The format is 3v3 team racing in LaserPerformance's double handed Z420 dinghies. Each boat has two sailors, and Legault was one of just six sailors from the USA chosen for the event. It marks the second straight year GW has sent a representative as Brendan Shanahan competed in the event last year. Legault caught up with GWsports.com recently to discuss the experience.
How were you chosen to represent the United States at LPCC?
During the spring season last year, I applied for the LPCC by sending in my sailing resume. Based on resume, six college sailing applicants were selected to represent the United States. We came from a few different schools: GW, Dartmouth, Boston College, College of Charleston and Brown.
What was it like being part of a team with sailors from all across the US?
I really enjoyed being part of a team with sailors from all different schools. While I grew up sailing with most of them, I don't get to see them as often as I used to. We had a great group, and it was fun to spend a week sailing on the same team. I think in the end we all became better sailors by quickly getting used to sailing on a team and in the same boats with one another.
What was it like to compete on the international stage? How was it different from collegiate racing?
Competing on an international stage is always an amazing experience. The event was the same format as collegiate sailing in the United States but with different people than we see on a typical weekend. I thought it was a lot of fun getting to know sailors from different countries and seeing how quickly teams adapted to the boats and progressed as the week went on.
What were a few highlights of the trip, in competition and in off time?
I have sailed all over the U.S. and in many different countries, and I have to say Lake Garda, Italy, has become one of my favorite venues. The conditions there were great, and it was amazing to sail with hundreds of different sailboats and windsurfers as well as mountains surrounding us. I thought one of the coolest things was finishing an intense race and taking a look around, realizing again where we were.
It was crazy how deep the water was there. Once we were out and they began to set the course, it took up to seven minutes to set a mark and have the anchor hit the bottom. Luckily, the wind there is like clockwork, and there wasn't a huge need for changing where the marks were.
One funny part of the regatta was during the first couple days they served pasta for lunch. We figured it would be different each time, but little did we know we would be eating pasta every day for the entire week. You could say we were a little tired of eating pasta by the end of our time there.
We got one off day, which we spent in Milan. It was a very cool city and much different from Lake Garda.
How will this experience prepare you for the 2018-19 season at GW?
Sailing in the LPCC was great training for the 2018-19 season at GW. We had windy conditions and were able to sail with and learn from each other, being from many different schools in college sailing. It was a grind, and the perfect way to start training for the year ahead.
Check out some pictures from Legault's trip below:
The LPCC aims to provide the highest level of competition to as many young sailors as possible. It provides sailors from various backgrounds with a place to meet and share their experiences and ideas. Teams are offered the opportunity to participate in a development clinic with world-class team race coaches before the event to acclimatize sailors to the boats, venue and racing style.
The format is 3v3 team racing in LaserPerformance's double handed Z420 dinghies. Each boat has two sailors, and Legault was one of just six sailors from the USA chosen for the event. It marks the second straight year GW has sent a representative as Brendan Shanahan competed in the event last year. Legault caught up with GWsports.com recently to discuss the experience.
How were you chosen to represent the United States at LPCC?
During the spring season last year, I applied for the LPCC by sending in my sailing resume. Based on resume, six college sailing applicants were selected to represent the United States. We came from a few different schools: GW, Dartmouth, Boston College, College of Charleston and Brown.
What was it like being part of a team with sailors from all across the US?
I really enjoyed being part of a team with sailors from all different schools. While I grew up sailing with most of them, I don't get to see them as often as I used to. We had a great group, and it was fun to spend a week sailing on the same team. I think in the end we all became better sailors by quickly getting used to sailing on a team and in the same boats with one another.
What was it like to compete on the international stage? How was it different from collegiate racing?
Competing on an international stage is always an amazing experience. The event was the same format as collegiate sailing in the United States but with different people than we see on a typical weekend. I thought it was a lot of fun getting to know sailors from different countries and seeing how quickly teams adapted to the boats and progressed as the week went on.
What were a few highlights of the trip, in competition and in off time?
I have sailed all over the U.S. and in many different countries, and I have to say Lake Garda, Italy, has become one of my favorite venues. The conditions there were great, and it was amazing to sail with hundreds of different sailboats and windsurfers as well as mountains surrounding us. I thought one of the coolest things was finishing an intense race and taking a look around, realizing again where we were.
It was crazy how deep the water was there. Once we were out and they began to set the course, it took up to seven minutes to set a mark and have the anchor hit the bottom. Luckily, the wind there is like clockwork, and there wasn't a huge need for changing where the marks were.
One funny part of the regatta was during the first couple days they served pasta for lunch. We figured it would be different each time, but little did we know we would be eating pasta every day for the entire week. You could say we were a little tired of eating pasta by the end of our time there.
We got one off day, which we spent in Milan. It was a very cool city and much different from Lake Garda.
How will this experience prepare you for the 2018-19 season at GW?
Sailing in the LPCC was great training for the 2018-19 season at GW. We had windy conditions and were able to sail with and learn from each other, being from many different schools in college sailing. It was a grind, and the perfect way to start training for the year ahead.
Check out some pictures from Legault's trip below:
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