TEAM ROBLE/SHEA UPDATE

CYC FOR TEAM ROBLE SHEA

BY EILEEN O’NEILL GIOIELLI

When the Tokyo games were postponed last summer, while not surprising, athletes and fans alike were gutted. Fast forward to this year and the anticipation of the Tokyo 202One Games has been wrought with hesitation from the Japanese government. They’ve established the strictest of COVID guidelines, which includes the toughest component, no fans.

So at Chicago Yacht Club, we knew we had to find a way to support our home team, Roble Shea. Over the years we’ve watched Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea hone their craft on the 49erFX and become an absolute force on the water. The team has made Miami their home in the last year, training as much as possible and preparing themselves for the Games. With all the restrictions, Team USA is encouraging all athletes to not have send off parties and continue to limit interactions. So we asked ourselves, how can we celebrate this team without physically having them in Chicago? Zoom was an obvious answer, but there needed to be additional elements to make the night extra special and really give these women a proper send off. So with Roble Shea appearing remotely, we (safely) filled Belmont Station with family, friends and the CYC community to celebrate where they’ve been and support their home stretch.

We wanted folks coming to get excited about seeing how hard these women have worked throughout their journey, and how it’s paid off. Part of the strategy was to document their journey. We displayed photos of the team with CYC members through the years and as youth sailors. We gathered all the red, white, and blue decor we could find and made it a party. The cherry on top was a 7 foot tall cardboard cut out we had made of the team. It was them on the podium, hand in hand with arms raised wearing their silver medals at the Pan American Games. Selfies were strongly encouraged.

With the Opening Ceremony less than 100 days out, it was imperative to also give attendees a sense of what being an Olympic sailor means and requires. Namely, funds. Steph and Maggie gave a run down of what it’s been like this last year, and relayed what they expect in the coming months. The ladies gave a great presentation and spoke candidly about what it costs to meet their goals.

Through the wonderful support and generosity of attendees, Chicago Yacht Club raised over $45K for the team. We couldn’t be more proud to watch these ladies shine in Tokyo.