Bermuda Place 3rd at Cayman Byte Championships
Placing third out of the North American countries eligible to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games, Team Bermuda’s teenage contingent did an outstanding job at the 2010 North American Byte Championships in the Cayman Islands.
The event saw 16 races contested over five days. Held from March 10th to March 15th, the Championships served as a qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games this August in Singapore. By virtue of their top four finish, Bermuda has qualified along with US Virgin Islands, Netherlands Antilles and Cuba.
In addition to the top four team placing, four young Bermudian sailors placed in the top ten individually. 15 year old Rahiem Steede was the top Bermudian finisher with a very impressive 5th placing overall. Keeping the pressure on the other countries Steede’s teammates Kalin Hillier and Owen Siese finished 6th and 7th overall respectively, leaving no doubt that Bermuda would qualify for a coveted spot at the first ever YOG. Dimitri Stevens finished in 10th place.
Kalin Hillier, Mackenzie Cooper, Alex Davis, Rahiem Steede, Omen Siese and Dimitri Stevens. Credit: Bytechamps.org
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The 2010 Byte Championships had competitors from over a dozen countries including; Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, Spain, US Virgin Islands and the United States.
Team Bermuda was coached by Argentine brothers Pablo and Dino Weber who were both happy to see the teams’ hard work and training pay off. The Webers have been conducting clinics in Bermuda since September, often with sailors from overseas joining our local kids to take advantage of Bermuda’s Byte fleet and the world class coaching. 8 of the top 10 sailors at this most recent regatta were coached by the Webers and joined team Bermuda in Grand Cayman.
Team Bermuda will be heading to Cannes, France next month for the Byte World Championships using it as their final international warm up and measuring stick leading up to the Games. Early this summer the Byte Class will hold their National Championship which will determine exactly which sailor will win the honour of representing Bermuda in Singapore.
The Team Consisted of:
- Rahiem Steede, 15, Berkeley Institute [Placed 5th]
- Kalin Hillier, 15, Saltus [Placed 6th]
- Owen Siese, 14, Warwick Academy [Placed 7th]
- Dimitri Stevens, 15, Berkeley Institute [Placed 10th]
- Alex Davis, 14, Saltus [Placed 22nd]
- Mackenzie Cooper, 15, Attends sailing school Tabor Academy in Mass [Placed 25th]
Traveling with the group is Somers Cooper, head of Bermuda Sailing Association.
More Information
- See a photo gallery of Bermudians at this event courtesy of Somers Cooper here
- See a video of Day 1 in the Caymans here
- See the full final results and points tally here [Excel]
[Thanks to Somers Cooper for his assistance]
