Bill Sandberg has lived his entire life on Long Island Sound. After going through the Junior Sailing Program at American Yacht Club, he went on to teach at several area clubs, including Larchmont and Noroton. He has competed in a host of One- Design National and World Championships and has sailed offshore in eight Newport- Bermuda races. He has served as Race Committee Chairman at American, as Vice Chairman of the JSA of LIS, and Vice President of US SAILING and on the Executive Committee. Bill is President & CEO of Niche Sports Group, which specializes in consulting on sports sponsorships, concentrating on sailing and fishing.
In the June issue, I wrote about the two biggest influencers in a young sailor’s life—parents and coaches. There are other important influencers who deserve a column for themselves. They are the members of the United States Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG). Thanks goodness they have an acronym, because that’s a long name to type each time.I’ve been fortunate enough to work closely with the US Olympic Sailing Team for over 10 years—first as a sponsor and then as a fundraiser. The team is made up of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, as well as the Paralympians and Paralympic hopefuls since those Games added sailing as a medal sport in 2000. They are one terrific group of people.
The pros I’m referring to are not Principal Race Officers, but people who earn their living sailing. Having pros and amateurs sail against each other has been a recurri...
