On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 2012 January will once again see the Daytona International Speedway near Daytona Beach, Florida, USA come alive with celebrations. Drivers, auto manufacturers and race fans from all over the world look forward to the Rolex 24 at Daytona which is the first major race of the international motor sport season. Many people play a pivotal role in making the Rolex 24 at Daytona a success every year. The Grand Marshals are one of them. People playing the role of a Grand Marshal hold the key to the success of a particular racing event.

As drivers line up on the start grid, our heart starts pounding and the adrenaline starts racing. During this crucial moment, it is the Grand Marshal who gives the racers their cue to start their engines. The command given by the Grand Marshal has taken a variety of forms over the years. Most of the commands are usually some variations of the same phrase. Generally, “Drivers, start your engines,” stands to be the standard protocol for a Grand Marshal. However, it is totally unofficial and at the discretion of the Grand Marshal on how he wants to use this command for the forthcoming races. As a partial host for racing festivities, the Grand Marshal is usually someone who has shown exceptional leadership in their field all these years and he is often regarded as a cultural hero in the racing hemisphere. For the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, A.J. Foyt (USA) will be stepping in as the Grand Marshal for the auspicious occasion. Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said that Daytona is honored to have one of the greatest drivers in the history of auto racing – A.J. Foyt – serve as the Grand Marshal on the commemoration of 50 years of endurance racing at the ‘World Center of Racing’. A.J. Foyt is a two-time overall champion of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He won this racing event as a twice-around-the-clock challenge in both 1983 and 1985. He holds the distinction of having led the first lap of the inaugural race in 1962 – then known as the Daytona Continental – in a Nichels-prepared Pontiac Tempest.

In 2010, Vic Elford of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GBR) served as the Grand Marshal for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Vic Elford was the winner of the 1968 Rolex 24 at Daytona. He is a three time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona and has been carrying out the duties of signaling and presenting the winners with Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosomograph Daytona timepieces in Gatorade Victory Lane. Dan Gurney in 2008, Richard Petty in 2007, Benny Parsons in 2006, Derek Bell in 2005 and Sir Stirling Moss in 2004 are some of the names who were honored with the task of Grand Marshal. All of them were racing legends in their respective times.

After cementing a free entry to the next year’s international Rolex Regatta, Desperado and Red Dog finished the St. Thomas Yacht Club Friday Night IC-24 Series by capturing the top two spots. Chuck Pessler’s Desperado and Mike Williams’ Red Dog finished with nine points pushing back all other teams to book a free entry for the next year’s International Regatta. According to the organizers of this race, the free entry fee for the Rolex Regatta was an incentive for people to come out and participate in the event in greater numbers. The St. Thomas Yacht Club Friday Night IC-24 Series started on June 10th, 2011. Though the race was a little disturbed by bad weather, but usually seven boats got out on the water for eight weekly races.

St. Thomas Yacht Club chairman and the owner of the Desperado Chuck Pessler confessed that due to the strength and high resistant power of the boats, they were able to garner some quality sailing performances. According to Chuck Pessler, the St. Thomas Yacht Club in an attempt to keep same boats involved all summer, the committee decided to award the boats with race points. Also it was decided that the crew and skipper may be changed each week, but that would not effect the series rankings. Though Chuck Pessler was in USA for the last two weeks, but he was always aware of the proceedings taking place in the race. In these two weeks, another skipper took over as the captain for his boat. Luck favored Chuck Pessler and the substitution earned him just enough points for his boat to keep the top spot. With some of the most experienced sailors in the team, the St.

Thomas Yacht Club had some big wins this summer. The consistency to win more and more tournaments paid off quite well for the club. Motivating people to participate in these events was the primary aim of the club from the beginning itself.

Chris Rosenberg’s Ice Cubed took the first position among six other boats in the final race last Friday. This helped in pushing his boat into a tie for second place with seven points in the final rankings of the race. Chris Rosenberg shared the runner-up honors with the Magic Bus. The Magic bus was skippered by Phil Shannon. Marston Winkles’ Satisfaction grabbed the third with six points. The final rankings of the race included nine boats. Before this, the highest number of boats participating in the race was seven. The race always commences on Friday, 5:30 pm in the evening and is open to the public. The USVI’s upcoming three home-and-away series with Haiti, Antigua and Curaçao will be played on September 2nd till November 15th and is actually Round 2 of the CONCACAF qualifying.

No. 2 in Rolex World Ranking, Christie Kerr along with some of the top Rolex World Ranking players like Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Maria Hjorth of Sweden will be a part of the Ladies Irish Open, which begins on Friday and the Solheim Cup on September 23rd, 2011. Paula Creamer, one among the top 10 Rolex players will also participate in these mega events. The Ladies Irish Open and the Solheim Cup will be played in Killeen Castle’s Jack Nicklaus course. American team captain Rosie Jones is extremely confident about the performance of his team. But European team captain Allison Nicholas was happy to maintain the underdog status for his team.

Having played very strongly in the last championships, the American team looks to put up a tough fight for the European golfers. But with three losses in a row, the European team also looks very hungry for a win this time. After losing the last three Solheim Cups and especially losing over in Sweden, the entire team is now bearing the burden of winning the tournament. The European team captain Alison Nicholas has taken the responsibility of preparing the team for the big challenge. According to the captain, maintaining the low complacent attitude would be of great help for the team. For each and every player of the team, the Solheim Cup has a different story. With Maria Hjorth being a part of their team, Alison hopes to mark a strong back for the entire team. Also, players like Sophie Gustafson, Laura Davies have already played in this place earlier also and they know the conditions well. This will be an added advantage for the entire European team.

With 48 years of experience, Laura Davies will also help increase the chances of performing well in the forthcoming Solheim Cup and the Ladies Irish Open. Laura Davies, Melissa Reid, currently second on the European points standings, Anna Nordqvist, Catriona Matthew, Maria Hjorth, Sandra Gal and defending champion Sophie Gustafson will play the three-day event in Killeen Castle.

Alison Nicholas has four picks for the Europeans team of 12 as they work off a combination of the world rankings and the Ladies European Tour rankings. The top four from each ranking system plus two picks forms the entire team. While Alison Nicholas was evasive about her combination until the European deadline of August 29th, Rosie Jones appeared more certain, although names will remain scarce until the Americans declare their team on August 21st. Both captains are expecting support for their teams with Alison Nicholas hoping that over 100,000 will attend the event over an exciting three days. The tournament in Sweden two years ago succeeded in breaking the six-figure mark, which was a record crowd for the competition itself in the last few years.

The three-time Rolex Junior All-American winner Allison Lee along with another Rolex Junior All-American winner Kyung Kim are a part of the huge team of top ten Rolex players who will be a part of the 2011 PING Junior Solheim Cup. The American Junior Golf Association announced the team of ten junior golfers as the members of the 2011 PING Junior Solheim Cup U.S. Team. The 2011 PING Junior Solheim Cup features the top 12 girls from the United States against those from Europe. The tournament will be played at Knights brook Hotel & Spa Golf Resort in Trim, Ireland from Sept 20th -21st, till The Solheim Cup commences. The Solheim Cup will be played from September 23rd to 25th at the Killeen Castle in County Meath, Ireland.

All the ten players in the U.S. Team were selected on the basis of the AJGA’s Polo Golf Rankings and the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Girls Rankings as of July 29, 2011. Serving as the Assistant Captain of the Solheim Cup in 2009, Meg Mallon will lead the U.S. team as their captain. Meg Mallon has already accumulated a staggering total of 19 Tour titles. Till now she has already taken part in eight Solheim Cups. The U.S. Team’s last two vacancies are reserved for captain’s picks. The name of the players will be announced this week of August itself. The golfers earning their entry through the Polo Golf Rankings are Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla., Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., Kyung Kim of Chandler, Ariz., and Gabriella Then of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, Ga., Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale, Ga., Esther Lee of Los Alamitos, Calif., Lindsey Weaver of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Emma Talley of Princeton, Ky., have earned their way into the tournament based on their positions in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings. PING designs, manufactures and markets a complete line of golf equipment including metal woods, irons, putters and golf bags.

Primarily a family run company, PING was founded in 1959 by the late Karsten Solheim. Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Based in Phoenix, Solheim’s youngest son John A. Solheim is the new director of the company. PING game-improvement products are available in more than 70 countries.

PING Junior Solheim Cup U.S. Team members in the past include nine-time LPGA Tour champion and winner of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open Paula Creamer, the 2007 Ginn OPEN and 2009 Kraft Nabisco champion Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel, who won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Paula Creamer was the first player to make the move from the PING Junior Solheim Cup to The Solheim Cup Team when she helped lead the U.S. to victory in 2005 with a 3-1-1 record.