Youth America’s Cup Profile: Dimitri Stevens
In the latest of a series of profiles of members of Bermuda’s team in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, we spotlight Dimitri Stevens, who provided insight into the dedication and training that it takes to represent one’s country at the very highest of levels.
A current student at Bermuda College, Mr. Stevens said, “I feel honoured that I have been one of the few chosen to represent the island and happy knowing that we have an island full of people supporting us and wishing for our success.”
Q: Tell us something about yourself.
A: My name is Dimitri Stevens and I am 21-years-old. I am currently attending Bermuda College doing an Associate’s Degree in Computer Information Systems in the hope of transferring my credits overseas to continue my studies.
While attending the College I also work for Copier World to gain valuable work experience in the IT field. The schools in Bermuda I attended before Bermuda College were The Berkeley Institute, Dellwood Middle School and West Pembroke Primary.
Q: Do you think that taking part in an event like this is something that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your lives?
A: Being a part of this team will benefit all of us for the rest of our lives. Being a part of this team will help us not only better understand ourselves and our own capabilities, but also help us learn team building skills, how to better interact with people both in calm and tense situations and how to work under pressure, which are all skills that will help in a work environment.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Bermudian, racing in Bermuda for Bermuda in such a prestigious event?
A: I think that it’s a wonderful opportunity that we, as Bermudians, are extremely fortunate to be able to not only host the America’s Cup and the Youth America’s Cup, but to also field a team to compete in the Youth America’s Cup.
I also feel honoured that I have been one of the few chosen to represent the island and happy knowing that we have an island full of people supporting us and wishing for our success.
Q: What made you try out for Team BDA in the first place?
A: The America’s Cup is the pinnacle of sailing and the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup opened up a lot of doors in the last edition for youth sailors to get involved with the Cup and be picked up by Cup teams.
When I saw that Bermuda would get a chance to have a team race in the Youth America’s Cup, I saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete at the pinnacle of the sailing world.
Q: Now that you are in Team BDA what do you hope to achieve – you want to win, but do you think you will take sailing even more seriously and look for a career in it, or at least to get more involved in it?
A: Of course the ultimate goal for this team would be to win the Youth America’s Cup but we have a lot of learning and training before we start thinking about that. For me it isn’t about taking sailing more seriously it’s about getting back to how serious I used to take, wanting to constantly race and get better.
At this stage I just want to get more involved in the Cup. I’m not really looking for a career out of it but like I said before, this even has the potential to open a lot of doors so I will make one decision at a time and see where it takes me.
Q: What excites you most about the lead-up to race time?
A: The thing that excites me the most is the opportunity to train and race on a wide variety of high performance sailing vessels that, without this event, I more than likely would have never had the opportunity to get on let alone sail and be in control of.
Q: Do you think the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup has the potential to leave a lasting legacy for Bermuda?
A: Yes, I do think the Youth AC will leave a lasting legacy on Bermuda, especially young Bermudians that are unsure or think that they can achieve anything in life. I think it will show that opportunities do present themselves and it is up to you as the individual to either make up your mind to pursue it and use it to all of its potential or to just let it pass by.
I also think that it will get more young people interested in sailing and hopefully more people will pursue it to either compete or just as a hobby.
Q: What sailing experience do I have?
A: I have been sailing since I was 10. I have competed in several Optimist regattas all over the world including North American, South America and World Championships. I have also competed in the Byte class vying, for position to represent Bermuda in the first ever Youth Olympics; the spot was ultimately won by Owen Siese.
I have competed in several local events including both helming and crewing in the fitted dinghy Contest III for the last six years.
Team BDA is Bermuda’s entry into the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup that will take place in the Great Sound in June 2017. They are mentored by Oracle Team USA and will race on the same high-speed AC45F catamarans seen during last October’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Bermuda.
The team comprises of 15 young Bermudians who will form the crew, the back-up crew and shore crew. Team BDA is being funded entirely by donations.
Team members are Connor Astwood, Mackenzie Cooper, Peter Dill, Preston Farrow, Na’eem Griffith, Philip Hagen, Kalin Hillier, Mustafa Ingham, Emily Nagel, Daniel Pell, Nicholas Pell, Owen Siese, Dimitri Stevens, Shomari Warner and Cecilia Wollmann.
Good luck man! The experience will last you a lifetime.
Wishing you all the best in this experience and may it open many new opportunities for you in the future!! All the Best Dimitri!
Great attitudes from every interview so far, this youth team is going to be a great representation for Bermuda. Can’t wait to see them once they start practicing in the 45′s, hope it will be soon, because these boats will be wholly different from anything they have encountered before.