The Basics
- High school sailing is governed at a national level by the Interscholastic Sailing Association or ISSA for short.
- There are seven districts encompassing approximately 1,000 different high school teams across the country. Schools in Washington and Oregon belong to the Northwest Interscholastic Sailing Association or NWISA for short
- There are approximately 50 active teams operating out of 20 different sailing hubs. Check the ISSA School Registry to see your school already has one!
- Regattas are sailed primarily in the spring season from early March through May.
- National championships are rotated between the different districts with each district getting a number or berths proportionate to its size.
- A full team usually consists of four sailors from the same school, although there are developmental rules in place to help teams with fewer than four sailors compete.
- Racing is usually done in double-handed dinghies with no spinnaker or trapeze. FJs, V-15s, and c420s are all suitable, with the FJ being the most popular boat on the West Coast.
- Most teams partner with their local yacht club or sailing center which serves as their home base and provides the boats and other equipment.
- It's common for more than one team to be based out of the same sailing center. When this is the case they often practice together and share coaching.
- Some sailing centers provide a paid coach, but often it's a community member or parent volunteering their time to run practice and get the team to regattas.
- If your school doesn't have a team, Start One Now!