Saturday, February 25, 2017

Winger Awarded US Sailing honors for J/24 Class service

US Sailing winners(Austin, TX)- A remarkable list of sailing’s most accomplished contributors received high honors during Wednesday night’s US Sailing Awards Dinner at the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol in Austin, Texas. US Sailing recognized these esteemed award winners for their extraordinary achievements in support of sailing in the United States. The awards dinner is a featured event at US Sailing’s 2017 National Conference.

Tim Winger (Lancaster, Pa.) was awarded the Harman Hawkins Trophy for his contributions to race administration as a measurer and equipment inspector. Winger sustained a passion for the J/24 the first time he saw one, and he has been sailing and working on J/24s ever since. He has exerted a major influence on the class for over 30 years.

Winger has held numerous positions related to J/24 sailing, including event measurer at seven of the 20 J/24 World Championships he has attended, district governor for the J/24 USA Class Association, and member of the executive committee of the International J/24 Class Association, where he currently serves as chair of the technical committee. Perhaps his most significant achievement was the effort he led to rewrite the class rules and the modifications required to gain World Sailing’s approval – a project that ultimately took over three years.

“The people behind the scenes make it possible for us to control the equipment and develop the tools and procedures for enforcement of the rules,” said Winger. “Thank you to US Sailing for supporting the sport we all love.”

An International Measurer (IM) since 2008, Winger has measured hundreds of boats at venues all over the world. His wife, Marie, often travels with him and shares in the measurement work.

“Between us we’ve seen the bottoms of more J/24s than anyone in the word,” added Winger.

Alex Finsterbusch, an IM from Argentina, said, “One of his many abilities is to recognize what your strengths are as an inspector. He always had the right guy in the right position. He is always calm, never loses his cool and is polite to sailors, coaches and everybody involved in the regatta.”   Learn more here about the US Sailing Awards. Add to Flipboard Magazine.