HAMPTON, Va. – For first-year sailing coach Alessandro Ambrosi, this spring's MAISA/SAISA Intersectional Regatta is more than just the next race on Hampton University's schedule. It's an opportunity for the program to head in a new direction.

“We want to develop the program,” Ambrosi said on Wednesday. “I have found a very good place, and a great program here at Hampton, but I want to develop it more, and this regatta is part of the larger plan.”

Hampton will host the MAISA/SAISA regatta on March 27-28 at Strawberry Banks, marking the second straight spring in which the Pirates have hosted the race. The university also hosted the spring intersectional in 2007.

The MAISA/SAISA Intersectional is a qualifier race of sorts – one in which the top two teams advance to the Admirals' Cup. The top eight teams in that regatta advance to regionals, which would then feed into the national regatta.

“It's kind of like in basketball,” Ambrosi said – an appropriate analogy given how the nation is swept into March Madness. “You compete in your season, and you go through your conference, and then you qualify for the national tournament. This is the same thing.”

The Pirates finished seventh in the MAISA/SAISA regatta last spring – after turning in a second-place finish in 2007. Count team captain Shane Rickie Horsford (Antigua, West Indies) among those looking for a better result this time around.

“It was really disappointing,” he said. “I really thought and expected us to do better.”

The competition in this regatta will be among the strongest the Pirates will face all season. Of the top 20 teams in the nation according to the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (as of March 2), four will be taking to the waters of Strawberry Banks: No. 5 Charleston, No. 11 U.S. Naval Academy, No. 13 South Florida and No. 18 Old Dominion.

George Washington, Christopher Newport, Clemson, Eckerd and Maryland are among the other strong programs that will be competing. Among MAISA schools, Georgetown, ODU, Saint Mary's and Navy have already qualified for the Admirals' Cup. Two more spots will be available at the MAISA/SAISA regatta.

“This is like football for some schools,” Ambrosi said, referring specifically to Charleston. “That's how important this regatta is.”

“We have to show that our program can host a big regatta,” Horsford added. “This is a chance for us to show how good our program is, and I expect a top-four finish.”

The regatta will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 27, with the opening ceremonies. The skippers' meeting will follow at 9 a.m., with the first race getting underway at roughly 9:15 a.m. Races will continue throughout the day, weather conditions allowing, and the last race of the day will start no later than 4 p.m.

Sunday's schedule will be much the same, with racing starting at 9 a.m. and lasting through much of the day.

Part of the development aspect to this year's regatta is the clinic that the program will hold on Saturday. Open to community members and local high school and middle school students, Ambrosi is using the regatta as a way to teach people about the sport of sailing. By introducing them to the sport, Ambrosi is banking on benefits down the road, directly related to support for the program.

“It's very important to us to showcase good sailors in what is a very difficult regatta,” he said. “If we can show people what the sport is about, and they become interested … maybe that leads to more fundraising, better recruiting, any number of benefits.

“Maybe down the road, we can host nationals. Why not?”