Sailing to the 2004 Olympics

Bryce Alderton

Sailing has been a part of Matt Ivey’s life from the time he was a

child sailing the waters in and around Huntington Harbour.

Now when he is off sailing to places such as Spain and Italy it is in

preparation for his ultimate goal -- winning a gold medal in the 2004

Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Ivey, a 26-year-old New York resident, and his friend Howard Cromwell

are close to realizing that goal. The two finished third in the Men’s 470

Class competition at the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta held two

weeks ago.

Their finish qualifies them for the International Sailing Federation’s

World Games in June, which is held in Marseilles, France. The games are

held every four years.

A third place finish in Miami also puts the sailors on the U.S.

Sailing Team, another component in the ranking system and another chance

to gain experience in preparation for the Olympic trials in the spring of

2004.

“I’m super-stoked to now be on the U.S. Sailing team,” Ivey said.

Ivey and Cromwell, a New Orleans resident, must win at the Olympic

trials to qualify for the Summer Games.

The two got a feel for Olympic competition when the U.S. Women’s

Sailing Team invited them to train with the team in Sydney, Australia for

seven weeks before the 2000 Summer Games. “That just hooked us, to be

with the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team, trainers, sports psychologists -- it

was just awesome,” Ivey said.

These next games are his chance to shine, Ivey said.

“Hey we’re young and to be at this level only comes along once,” he

said. “You put your life on hold to chase after the dream of qualifying

for the Olympics.”

The competition in Miami featured 11 different types of sailboats.

Ivey and Cromwell, who met in 1995 during junior sailing competitions,

sail a 15-foot, two-person boat. Ivey sits in the back steering the boat

while Cromwell stands on the side harnessing the top of the mast to keep

the boat balanced. “We compliment each other very well in the boat and

get along very well,” Ivey said. “It’s like a marriage, we’ll spend seven

weeks together at a time.”

When the two have an event they will usually arrive five or six days

prior to the competition to study wind and wave conditions.

“It’s good to get familiar with the conditions and the geography

there,” Ivey said.

The duo will take a break from sailing before leaving for Barcelona,

Spain on March 12 for Barcelona Week, an international competition with

participants from 25 countries, Ivey said.

They will go on to compete in another event in Spain and one in France

before the World Games in June.

Ivey has lived in Larchmont, N.Y. for two years, where he is now the

adult sailing director at Larchmont Yacht Club.”For training purposes I

have to be back here because there are not a lot of [Class] 470 sailing

courses on the West Coast,” Ivey said. “I hope to be back in Southern

California long-term.”

His mother and father, Judith and Kevin Ivey, have lived in Huntington

Harbour for 22 years, and watched him grow up sailing.

“He has great natural ability, as much as anyone out there,” Kevin

Ivey said. “The only problem is the financial support to get there.”