WOMEN TO RACE FOR AMERICA’S CUP
Congressional Record: March 24, 1994 – Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I would like to bring to the attention of the Senate and to the entire Nation the historic achievement of the 16-member all-female team that will race next year
for the America’s Cup in San Diego.
It is a truly remarkable achievement. It is an accomplishment which transcends the sport of sailing, one that breaks down barriers for women everywhere. As chronicled in a March 10 article in the Washington Post, until now, no female team has ever competed for the America’s Cup. In fact, no woman has ever served as a crew member in an actual America’s Cup race.
And let no one underestimate their chances. Six of them are Olympic medalists in sailing and rowing and four are former national yachtswomen of the year. They will race with state of the art boats, one of which has already won an America’s Cup. I believe their chances are very good indeed, Mr. President, and that one day we may be congratulating these women for a much larger achievement.
I have often said that when I ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992, it was the first time in my life when I felt that being a woman was not a disadvantage. It is through the singular achievements of women like these that the road is paved for all women to make equally important strides in other fields. These 16 women have played a crucial role in
enabling women to compete on an equal setting with men, and in shattering the glass ceiling once and for all.
This Senator will watch their progress with great interest. They have a big fan back in Washington who is rooting for them the whole way.
Sources
[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Senate]
* Noteworthy
1720 – Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February
1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.
1765 – The Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops
1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
1837 – Canada gives African Canadian men the right to vote.
1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground “Rapid Transit Railroad” that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1958 – Rock ‘n’ roll teen idol Elvis Presley is drafted in the U.S. Army.
1965 – Images from the Ranger 9 lunar probe are broadcast live on network television.
1989 – In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.