Having grown up on the water, Erin Maxwell '01 is preparing for a chance to join the United States Olympic Sailing team in Sydney.
Maxwell will leave Dartmouth after the Summer term to begin training for the Olympic trials that will be held in St. Petersburg, Fla. this October.
No stranger to competitive sailing, Maxwell began sailing at age 6 and racing at age 12 in small junior regattas in the waters off the shore of her home in Stonington, Ct.
By the time Maxwell joined the College's sailing team, she had already been racing in national regattas all across the country since age 14 and had proven herself as a member of her high school sailing team.
Maxwell's experience was rewarded freshman year, when she was named All American, the only freshman, male or female, in the country to receive that honor. Maxwell received the honor again this year.
Last year Maxwell was third overall in the Junior Olympics racing smaller boats than she currently is training on, and in both 1996 and 1997, she was National Junior Women's Champion.
Arriving for Summer term directly from this year's Junior Olympics, Maxwell ranked first among women and eighth overall in the country. To compete in the Junior Olympics, potential competitors must submit a resume detailing all of their past races.
There aren't really differences between men's and women's sailing, except for the differences in weight and strength, Maxwell said. These differences often force women to crew and not be skipper, but Maxwell was determined to continue.
"Most of the people in my family are skippers and not crews, so it runs in the family, I guess," Maxwell said. "I enjoy doing it."
For the two years that Maxwell has been a member of the Dartmouth Sailing team, the team has mostly been ranked number one. In the national competition of collegiate sailors, Dartmouth, led by Maxwell, took second.
Sailing has become less of a sport and more of a passion for Maxwell. The environs of the sport, combined with the challenges, are the prime attractions, she said. "You're outside, you're on the water, you're in the sun. It's kind of like a game ... you have to predict wind changes. It's a mental challenge."
Maxwell describes herself as very competitive, and only through racing can one become better at making predictions.
The chances of entering the Olympics this year are slim, Maxwell said, but the hope is to prepare for four years time in which Maxwell plans to compete again.
Maxwell's sailing partner, Jen Morgan '02, serves as Maxwell's crew, despite being a skipper herself. The two women putting their knowledge together as skippers will hopefully allow them to go as fast as they can and gain the upper hand, Maxwell said.
In addition to sailing, Maxwell has been a member of the Decibelles since Winter term of her freshmen year, and traveled with the group on its New England Tour last December to Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts, where it sang at Harvard Square.
A sister in Delta Delta Delta sorority and a member of a local softball league during the summer, Maxwell is successful in many fields.
Her current plan is to double major in Studio Art and Economics, Maxwell said. "I like Studio Art the best, but I'm majoring in economics so I don't become a starving artist."
