Sailing Team To Host Thomas H. Stafford Jr. Trophy Regatta

On Saturday, Feb. 22, NC State Sailing will host the inaugural Thomas H. Stafford Jr. Trophy Regatta at its home venue in Lake Crabtree County Park. This free, family-friendly event honors a friend of the Wolfpack sailing program, Thomas H. Stafford Jr., who has been a dedicated advocate for student life at NC State and throughout the Wolfpack community for over four decades. 

Stafford has served many roles at the university, including vice chancellor for student affairs from 1983 until his retirement in 2012. For many years, he has also been an avid supporter of the sailing program, hosting the team at the Memorial Belltower for tours and stories during its spring team photo sessions.

“The passion Dr. Stafford has for NC State is unparalleled,” said Wolfpack sailing Head Coach Dana Magliola. “He’s an inspiration. We aim to bring this same level of pride and enthusiasm every day representing the Wolfpack in college sailing.” 

The inaugural Stafford Trophy regatta will feature teams from the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Conference, which includes NC State, Davidson College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University and Wake Forest University.

The event will begin with an opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m. at the Lake Crabtree waterfront, near the viewing tower. Racing will start directly after the opening ceremony and will continue depending on conditions until around 5 p.m. The event will feature giveaways of limited-edition posters created by NC State graduate and former Wolfpack sailor, Weatherley Tripp. Teams will compete in a series of races throughout the event with the combined low team score securing the regatta win. 

Live scoring for the event can be found at https://scores.collegesailing.org/s25/thomas-stafford-jr/.