Antoine Screve, 16, of San Francisco, started sailing an Optimist dinghy at age 9. The 29er is currently his favorite boat, however, and it's one on which he certainly excels: he won the 29er division at the U.S. Junior Sailing Championships and at CORK, both with crew James Moody. Earlier in the year, he won the Club 420 Midwinters with crew Willie McBride. Screve and Moody race on the same high school team at The Branson School. He is also currently a member of the Under-18 U.S. Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and aspires to attend the Games in the 49er.

For Screve, sailing hasn't always been competitive. He has cruised extensively with his parents, including a six-month expedition through the Bahamas. "I am told I steered a sailboat before I walked," he says.

Chris Segerblom, 17, Costa Mesa, Calif., has benefited from racing nationally and internationally over the past 10 years. Of late, he won B division at the Mallory Trophy, was on the winning team at the Baker Trophy, and 11th at the International 420 Worlds as crew for Judge Ryan (a 2008 Jobson Junior All-Star). In talking about other sports he plays (basketball and cross country), Segerblom says that one of his crews once made an interesting analogy between sailing and basketball: "The sports would be similar if the ref was allowed to blow the whistle and all of a sudden your team was supposed to score on the other basket [her interpretation of a wind shift]."

Chris Williford, 15, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has been a perennial standout in the Optimist class. Over the past year, he competed in Ecuador, Brazil, California, and Europe. Williford won the 2009 North Americans, was second at the Nationals, and won the Trofeo March Rizzotti Team Race Champs, and the Semana de Mar Del Plata in Argentina. He was 18th at the Worlds (top American) and second in the U.S. Optimist Team Trials. In October, he was the youngest skipper at US SAILING's Championship of Champions in Carlyle, Ill.

Williford got his start in the protected waters of the Lauderdale YC, then his instruction moved out into the ocean where he says it can be very challenging. The most instructive experiences, he says, have been racing on a Melges 32 in a program called "Take a Junior Sailing Day," created by LYC member Jeff Ecklund. Williford has also cruised with his family, most notably in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest. When not sailing or traveling, he plays tennis. Next year, he is looking to transition into an International 420 or 29er.

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Ed.'s note: Gary was elected president of US SAILING in October '09. He tells us he has ambitious plans for the organization. You can learn more about his initiatives at www.ussailing.org