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| Team USA Coach Juan Carlos Romero Juan Carlos started coaching in the US in 2001, when he was hired as the Head Sailing Coach of the Manchester Sailing Association in MA. He has coached Optimist sailors since 1995, first in Ecuador where he coached the National Team, and more recently at several clubs in the US including the Annapolis Yacht Club among other very prestigious clubs in the US. Juan has attended as the Ecuadorian and US National Team Coach to several National and Intercontinental Championships such as IODA South Americans, North Americans, Worlds and other international events like Flanders and the Easter Regatta in the Netherlands. Juan joined North Sails, one of the biggest sailmaking company in the World, in December 2007 as an Optimist Sailing Class Sail Consultant. His position at the company, Sail Consultant, involves the design of new sails, the testing, marketing and service. Juan joined USODA in 2006 and since then he has been a US National Team Coach for the Optimist Class coaching at many USNT practices. |
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| Team Leader Jill DelBello Jill is the mother of three junior sailors ranging in ages from 10 – 16, and is an active part of her children’s sailing passion. She has been a member of the USODA since 2003 when her oldest started sailing an Optimist. By the time her youngest sailor ages out, she will have been a member of the organization for 12 years. As a willing volunteer for the USODA, Jill has acted in many capacities. She is currently a National Board member and Chair of the International Committee. This is Jill's second time as a TeamUSA Team Leader, and her manual is now used as "the book" for USA Optimist travel teams. Jill is a Registered Nurse working at a local hospital in the Ambulatory Surgery Department and has worked as the Nurse Manager for general pediatrics. She is a volunteer fundraiser for a Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY. As a member of American Yacht Club, she engaged the sailing community in financially supporting the Maria Ferrari Children’s Hospital. She is a member of American Yacht Club and lives with her family in Bedford, NY.  Blake MacDiarmid Blake is a Vice President of the United States Optimist Dinghy Association and member of the International and United States National Team Committees. This is his third TeamUSA event traveling with his 12-year old son Ian, a three-year member of the United States National Team. He was the Communications Coordinator for TeamUSA for the 2009 British Nationals and attended the 2010 North American OptiNAM IODA Championship. He is a US Sailing Certified Sailing Coach and former Director of the Southport (ME) Yacht Club Junior Program where he added the Optimist class to the club fleet. He has competitively sailed since he was 8 years old including time on performance sailboards, Lasers, 420s, J24s, Melges 24s, J35s, long distance beach cats and maxi-catamarans. Blake is a Strategic Advisor, Political Consultant and Performance Sailing Evangelist. He is the proud father of Ian, Will and Clare and lives in South Florida. |
