Tommy Styron ’20, a senior from Hamden, recently won the U19 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships, which took place at Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club in Beach Haven, NJ.
Styron won the event with his partner Hayden Earl, a junior from Middletown, R.I., though the pair have sailed together for only a year. The two sailed together in a youth developmental boat called the “29er,” a smaller version form of the boat used in the Olympics, the “49er.”
Unlike other sports that have qualifying races and games, Styron and Earl had to apply to participate in the championships. “It was an invitational event, so we had to submit a resume prior to the event with results from previous championships and high-level national championships,” said Styron.
The championships spanned four days of constant sailing, requiring Styron and Earl to maintain their intensity and focus. “In these races, there is a series of 30- to 45-minute races,” said Styron. “There are about 12 to 18 races over the course of the championships. Whoever has the lowest total score from those races will win the championship.”
After both sailers experimented with different partners, the two decided to sail together one day and developed instant chemistry with each other. To prepare for the race, Styron and Earl spent the summer of 2018 together in a boat. “Essentially, we spent a year or so back and forth between training in the Northeast and Miami every few weekends,” said Styron. The two typically sailed out of Stamford, Miami, and wherever the World Championships took place, though they didn’t limit their training to the United States. They spent two weeks training in the Netherlands and another two weeks sailing in Argentina, hoping to ready themselves for different waters. This rigorous training program paid off during the sailing regular season, when the duo won 9 of 14 races, with a dozen top-five finishes.
Styron’s love for sailing began when he was five years old, at his grandmother’s house in Martha’s Vineyard. “My grandmother’s property and the sailing club are incredibly close to each other and are only separated by a hedge,” said Styron, who visited every summer.
Although the sport is an important part of his life, Styron said that apart from the immediate next step, he is unsure of his future with sailing. “Sailing in college is the most obvious future sailing plan for me. I don’t know if I will begin an Olympic campaign in the future, but college is the next step for now,” he said.
Styron and his teammate plan to compete in the Euro Circuit next summer. Styron is also looking forward to his final season at Choate, this spring when he will hope to lead the team to a successful finish at the Connecticut State Sailing Championships.
