Activity in match racing and team racing in the U.S. has never been stronger.
Dave Perry, who is an active match racer, as both participant and coach, provides his perspective on this shift in this article from Scuttlebutt.
Also check out the list of all the youth match racing opportunities in the USA during 2013 that Dave has prepared and posted on the US Sailing website.
We lose a lot of kids in the sport from 16-24 years old. I see those years as a "bridge" from junior sailing to adult sailing. College sailing is one of the "bridges" for sure, but many don't have the college sailing experience for whatever good reason (often their size is an issue, and of course where they go to school and what they choose to do with their time there, etc., etc.). So they need other "bridges" they can do and afford.
Most young adults don't have a dime to their name. If they are active, it's often with crewing on boats at their club or in their area. I doubt many are buying boats. So when clubs and other associations have programs where people can have access to their boats, that really helps.
We have seen a resurgence of 20-something sailors at my club (the Pequot Yacht Club in Southport, CT) since we began owning Ideal 18's back in the 90's. A dozen or so other clubs around Long Island Sound and elsewhere have similar programs. It is not uncommon for these sailors, as they get older, to want their own boats. We have a bunch of J Boats in our harbor now that race regularly. And in turn they take the younger kids as their crew.
Match racing and team racing are not usually ends unto themselves, but are other disciplines in the sport that excite sailors, accelerate their learning, and provide a "bridge" for that 16-24 year old group so they remain active in the sport.
At a recent North U match racing clinic in San Diego, the participants were sailors of all sorts of boats from Etchells to Snipes to Lidos to Lasers, etc. They won't stop sailing those boats if they enjoy match or team racing. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, these kinds of clinics are invigorating in my experience, helping what can become stale become interesting again...everyone benefits.
I encourage anything that raises the excitement level and expertise of 16-24 year old sailors, as I think those are the two ingredients to having a great experience in anything we do....and will provide the best "bridges" into adult sailing.
Check out the list of all the youth match racing opportunities in the USA during 2013 that Dave has prepared and posted on the US Sailing website.
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