5/7/2020 2:38:00 PM | Sailing, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
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Former GW sailor helps grow sport through communications
By: Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
As President of GW club sailing, Will Ricketson's mission was to operate like a varsity program.
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In addition to competing, the Massachusetts native made time to write race reports, take photos, film video, sell merchandise and build a social media following.
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"Our attitude was 'If we treat ourselves like varsity athletes and we run at that level of intensity, then maybe the school will invest in us in the future if we're fortunate enough,'" said Ricketson, who represented the Buff and Blue from 2007-2011. "Eventually, that's exactly what happened."
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Indeed, Ricketson's hard work paid off in 2012 when GW sailing was elevated to varsity status, while his personal crash course as a leader in the effort paved the way for a career in sailing communications.
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Following a successful run at US Sailing, Ricketson has spent the past two years as Communications Director for American Magic, a team competing in the 36th America's Cup. Next month, he's set to relocate with the team to Auckland, New Zealand, in preparation for the prestigious regatta beginning in early 2021.
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"All of this stuff that I do now professionally I started doing for GW sailing," Ricketson said. "I never really aimed for sailing communications as a pathway, but it was just too tempting to ignore."
Ricketson on the water with Kaitlin Denney during his GW sailing career.
 It's been a rewarding journey for Ricketson, who earned his History degree from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences after participating in the University Honors Program.
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Ricketson's time at US Sailing included Olympic trips to the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games. With the sport on the world stage, he was responsible for amplifying the story of Caleb Paine's bronze in the Men's Heavyweight One-Person Dinghy in Rio and a pair of Paralympic medals.
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"Getting to have that experience was really special," Ricketson said. "There's nothing like the Olympics and the energy around it and the people involved. It's just through the roof."
The move to American Magic has provided a different sort of challenge and its own exciting opportunities.
America's Cup teams rely on sophisticated technology that requires secrecy to keep a leg up on the competition, which can make for a difficult balance for the man responsible for conveying the team's story through words, photos and video.
When American Magic became the first America's Cup challenger to publicly launch a full-size test boat last fall, the team's digital content drew millions of impressions for the Newport, R.I.-based team and put an unusually bright spotlight on the sport he loves.
"My whole focus as I'm doing this job is to protect the team and do whatever I need to do to help my team but also just raise the profile of sailing however I can," Ricketson said. "That conversation begins and ends with compelling content that makes your sport relatable, no matter how difficult it might be for people to understand at first."
Ricketson took this photo of American Magic's AC75 boat, DEFIANT.
After nearly three years of planning and preparing, American Magic is entering the home stretch getting ready for the America's Cup. Preliminary racing will begin in January 2021 to identify the challenger to face defending champion Emirates Team New Zealand next March.
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Ricketson will be with American Magic every step of the way to document the action.
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"I'm absolutely excited," Ricketson said. "It's going to be a global broadcast event watched by millions of people, it'll become part of a 170-year long tradition of America's Cup racing and it'll be a lot of fun to watch our team, which has been working so hard, get to finally deploy all of that hard work and innovation and effort that's gone into helping us win the regatta."
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For Ricketson, it all goes back to GW sailing and his efforts to help build the club from a handful of eager sailors with no boats of their own into a group ready for the promotion to varsity program.
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It was a push that prepared him for a dream job, and GW sailing's success during that period also launched team captain Meredith Carroll ('11) into a career in sailing operations with ocean racing outfit 11th Hour Racing. The tight-knit sailing community is full of former Colonials, highlighted by former head coach John Pearce's role as national youth director at US Sailing.
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Although he was never officially a varsity student-athlete, Ricketson has been able to stay close to the athletic department as a member of the GW Athletics Advisory Council, and he's delighted in watching the program's continued growth. He was on hand last May for the ICSA Women's National Championship not far from his home in Newport, calling it "just surreal" to watch his former program challenge for its first national title before ultimately taking fourth.
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"I think I'd probably struggle to make the team at this point if I were coming in," Ricketson said. "They're so good, and they just keep getting better. They draw talent from all parts of the country and internationally, and they're so well-coached by Billy (Martin). All we can do is watch in amazement as they compete for national championships every year."
