By Chris Ericksen

Organized sailboat regattas are pretty standard events. The sponsoring organization declares the date, says which boats can come and then waits for sailors to show up. When it’s over, the winners get trophies. But another aspect of the sport is exactly opposite — the terms of the regatta are determined by trophy.

This kind of race is called a “challenge.” Typically, a challenge involves a particular trophy donated by somebody for a particular purpose. The Deed of Gift typically specifies the format in which challenges are handled and how the ensuing regatta should be sailed. Perhaps the best known such challenge is for the America’s Cup, which is in the news just now as challengers and defender squabble over the shape of the next event.

Locally, there is at least one such challenge that is regularly sailed. The Association of San Pedro Bay Yacht Clubs, which coordinates yachting activities within San Pedro Bay, holds title to the Walt Elliott Harbor Challenge Trophy. It was donated by a member of Los Angeles Yacht Club as the award for a regatta among member clubs in identical or similar boats.

The terms are pretty straightforward. Any member club of the ASPBYC may send a challenge to the club that holds the trophy, specifying in what boat or under what handicap rule and rating they intend to sail. The defending club must choose from among challenges received and then schedule a regatta in which they will defend against boats from any member club of the ASPBYC. The winner gets the trophy and must be ready to defend the cup against challengers the next year.

In 2007, ABYC won the trophy from Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in San Pedro in a regatta sailed in Cal 20s. This year, Shoreline Yacht Club challenged ABYC in J/35 sloops. ABYC will defend in a J/35 owned by a member, and the other clubs in the ASPBYC are eligible to send yacht club teams in a J/35 to challenge as well.

The regatta will take place this Saturday, May 10, in the waters of San Pedro Bay, either in the Long Beach Outer Harbor off the Peninsula or outside the breakwater. Check on the ABYC Web site, www.abyc.org, for details on the regatta. You can find details on the Walt Elliott Harbor Challenge Trophy itself at the ASPBYC Web site, http://aspbyc.scyaweb.org/.

Summer Sailing

As mentioned last week, the summer-long series of “beer-can races” started this week in Long Beach. Long Beach Yacht Club’s Wet Wednesdays kicked off yesterday; the Seal Beach Yacht Club Pop Tops Regatta starts tonight. In both cases, the regattas are made up of several series. Each nightly race starts in the Long Beach Outer Harbor off the Peninsula and finishes within Alamitos Bay.

The majority of boats racing in these two events are mono-hull keelboats that compete under the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) handicap system, but one-design keelboats also take part. The LBYC series’ end before Labor Day but the SlBYC regatta runs right through September. Details on the schedules and other information are best found at the Long Beach Yacht Club Web site, www.lbyc.org, or the Seal Beach Yacht Club site, www.sealbeachyc.org.

The championship season at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool is winding down this month for high school competition. The CIF-SS Swimming and Diving Championships is running right now. It began on Tuesday, May 6, and will run through Saturday, May 10. Schools with teams from all over CIF-SS are entitled to send athletes to this event.

Next Tuesday, May 13, will see a slightly more restricted event at the Plaza Pool — the CIF-SS Swimming and Diving Masters Meet. Usually the term “masters” implies older athletes, but in this case it means the best of the best will be in town. Only the top 24 swimmers in each event are invited.

The diving events will run through the afternoon and the swimming events in the evening. Other details on the meet can be found at the CIF-SS Web site, www.cifss.org. Or you can call the Plaza Pool at 570-1806.0