NEWPORT, RI – February 15, 2012 -- Twenty four of the leading U.S. yacht clubs have accepted the invitation of the  New York Yacht Club (NYYC) to compete in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup U.S. Qualifying Series (USQS), to be sailed in Newport, R.I., September 4-8, 2012.

Returning to the event are American in Rye, N.Y.; Carolina in Charleston, S.C.; Eastern in Marblehead, Mass.; Fishing Bay in Deltaville, Va.; Forth Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, Texas; Indian Harbor in Greenwich, Conn.; Larchmont in Larchmont, N.Y.; Little Traverse in Harbor Springs, Mich.; Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, Calif.; Pequot in Southport, Conn.; San Francisco in Belvedere, Calif.; Seattle in Seattle, Wash.; Southern in New Orleans, La. and St. Francis in San Francisco, Calif. The event has generated considerable interest, and 10 yacht clubs new to the event have accepted invitations: Bay Head in Bay Head, N.J.; California in Marina Del Ray, Calif.; Edgartown in Edgartown, Mass.; Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.; Grand Maumelle Sailing Club in Little Rock, Ark.; Grand Traverse in Traverse City, Mich.; Nantucket in Nantucket, Mass.; Storm Trysail Club; Texas Corinthian in Kemah, Texas and Youngstown, in Youngstown, N.Y.

The selection process was based on member representation, the club’s involvement in and outreach to the sport of sailing, as well as US Sailing regional designations. The complement of clubs represents a cross section of the country with three clubs from the Northeast, four from Long Island Sound, two from the Mid Atlantic, four from the Southeast, three from the Great Lakes, four from California, one from the Pacific Northwest and two from Texas. Storm Trysail comes to the event with a nationwide membership.