Junior Sailing

2020: The Year of Virtual Meets

Sailfish Rose to the Challenge, Placed Fourth Overall in Upper League

by Anna Swartz

Swim meets without throngs of cheering fans? A quiet sunrise swim meet? These are not the typical experiences of a GPYC Sailfish swim team member, but as with everything in 2020, it was a bit (or a lot) different than usual. The team competed in three virtual meets -- either early morning meets or in the evening. During one meet, they competed against three different clubs. The Michigan Inter-Club Association (MICSA) were also virtual. According to Assistant Swim Coach Elizabeth Bourke, GPYC ended the season fourth overall in the upper league of MICSA. For the 2020 season, GPYC’s Sailfish team consisted of 80 children, compared to about 120 swimmers in 2019. To ensure safety, the team followed strict COVID-19 protocols, such as smaller groups of kids for practices and utilizing different ends of the pool. Temperature checks were also taken before each practice and meet. No illnesses were reported throughout the season.

“Even with all the limitations and restrictions, the Sailfish had a phenomenal summer, and we were very happy with how it all worked out,” said Assistant Coach Elizabeth Bourke.

Parents such as Stephen Wheatley were grateful that the coaches were able to navigate a challenging situation and create the best possible environment for these young swimmers to safely learn and improve their skills. “The Club stepped up and did a wonderful job,” Wheatley said. “For the MICSA Finals, the Club went all out with the VIP seating -- the food and everything was just incredible.”

Photo by John F. Martin Photography, Inc.

The majority of the 2020 Sailfish Swim Team

2020: The Year of Virtual Meets continued

Luke Mychalowych broke two pool records this season during MICSA Finals.

Christos Routsis won the Fred Michalik Award and High Point 15-17 Boys Award Photo courtesy of Rania Routsis

2020 Sailfish Award Recipients

High Point 8 & Under

Girls: 1st Eleanor Early 2nd Ella Legwand 3rd Kennedy Griffin

Girls: 1st Gabriella Mannino 2nd Mia Melhem 3rd Hadley Beal and

Victoria Beauregard

Girls: 1st Annabel Klaasen 2nd Betsy Ropke 3rd Lila Loeffler

Girls: 1st Avery Beal 2nd Kelsey Beckett 3rd Allie Mattes

Girls: 1st Sophie Schuetze 2nd Sophia Kapla 3rd Genevieve Boutrous Boys: 1st Ronan Zvirbulis 2nd Liam Zvirbulis 3rd Charles O’Connor

Boys: 1st Luke Loeffler 2nd Jack Ropke 3rd Johnny Sceglio

Boys: 1st Stanton Kapla 2nd Jack Griffin 3rd Theo Moisides

Boys: 1stLuke Mychalowych 2nd Vincent Sceglio 3rd Vincent Maffesoli

Boys: 1st Vincent Maribao 2nd Nicholas Borrego 3rd Christos Routsis

High Point 9 & 10

High Point 11 & 12

High Point 13 & 14

High Point 15 & 17 Perpetual Trophy Commodore Frank Couzens Junior High Point – 12 & Under

Girls: Gabriella Mannin Boys: Ronan Zvirbulis

Perpetual Trophy Commodore James Marks Junior High Point – 13 & Over Girls: Avery Beal Boys: Luke Mychalowych

Memorial Trophy – Dr. Jon Paulas MICSA Championship High Point Girls: Gabriella Mannino Boys: Luke Mychalowych & Ronan Zvirbulis

Rookie of the Year Girls: Mia Melhem Boys: Jack Griffin

Coaches’ Award Girls: Reygan Lowery Boys: Liam and Ronan Zvirbulis

Donna Vollmer Memorial Award: Katherine Bsharah Fred Michalik Award: Christos Routsis

Junior Sailing Program Boasts Epic Year, Despite Pandemic

by Anna Swartz

Teamwork was the key to making the 2020 GPYC Junior Sailing season not only run smoothly, but flourish amid a global pandemic. During the nine-week summer season, a total of 187 children participated in the Club’s Kinder Sailing, Learn to Sail, Racing Team and Adventure Sailing. Junior Sailing Director Emily Simon referred to this as “the Club’s biggest and longest season ever” and attributed the success to the dedication of her team of nine coaches.

Despite the Stay-at-Home Executive Order lifting only several weeks before the beginning of the season, Simon says they were more than ready to take on the task of both teaching children how to sail and keeping everyone healthy. “We train and train on how to keep everyone safe on the water but keeping them safe from a pandemic on top of that was an entirely new challenge,” Simon said. Mandatory temperature checks each morning for staff and sailors, as well as sanitizing equipment and facilities throughout each day, allowed for the safest learning environment possible. Classes also separated and spread out to areas such as the East Lawn to ensure social distancing. Simon said that the children and parents working together with the new COVID protocols was invaluable as well. All the effort was worth it -- GPYC Sailing Director Wally Cross said no illnesses were reported the entire summer among sailors and coaches. The Club’s Kinder Sailing program, only in its second year, attracted 46 five- and six-year-olds. “A program like this is unique in the area to GPYC,” Simon said. “It’s an awesome feeder program that will give us a really healthy sailing program for years to come.” Learn to Sail, levels I and II, attracted 135 sailors between the ages of 7 to 11. The Club’s Adventure Sailing, for ages 12-18, was the perfect fit for those looking to improve their sailing in a fun and casual way. The Racing Team, Simon says, was left with an unprecedented situation -- the Detroit Regional Yacht-Racing Association (DRYA) decided not to organize regattas for the summer due to COVID-19. However, Simon and a group of local sailing directors found a safe way to organize four events that allowed each team to race and maintain their distance from other clubs. “We would meet in the middle of the lake by Crescent Sail Yacht Club,” Simon said. “A lot of teamwork between the six clubs -- Pontiac, North Star, Crescent, Bayview, DYC and GPYC -- allowed the kids to be competitive while following Covid protocols.”

Based on the triumph of pulling off the best year yet in the midst of a pandemic, both Simon and Cross are optimistic about the future of the GPYC’s sailing program. Cross sees a huge benefit for today’s youth to participate in the Club’s sailing programs. “It’s a wonderful outdoor activity that allows kids the ability to get away from their devices and to connect with other peers,” Cross said.

The Opti race team on the water at the beginning of the 2020 Junior Sailing season. The Adventure sailing class stared off week two of their session with match racing J22s.