The Conundrum of Sailing and Sport

There was a time when university education was simply a progressed step in a commitment toward learning. But sport has changed that, and an elite athlete in most events now look toward those four years as an opportunity to prepare for either an Olympic or professional sports career.

However, it is few that succeed at the next level, and for most it likely means that with graduation comes the end of their sports lifestyle. But sailing is different.

Sailing goes on for a lifetime, yet the youth years, which once offered the vastness of the sailing lifestyle, have changed. From the organization of youth and high school sailing has evolved a pronounced pathway toward college sailing. While immensely popular, how does a young person stay in the sport when their connection has been so limited?

Justin Scott, an active member of the Viper 640 class in Connecticut, offers this personal tale:

My son is in the midst of his college application process. He is a reasonably talented sailor but has chosen a different path. The temptation is to play every card he has in the college application deck but none of the college sailing coaches know that he has applied to their college. He does not want to be obligated in advance to an all-consuming sailing program. His dominant passion is his field of study. This dictates his choice of college.

Whichever university he gets into, he plans to rock up to the sailing program without a predetermined obligation and offer to try out, provided his participation can be balanced alongside everything else that he wants to do at university. One of his sailing team mates already has their college place but it comes at a heavy price in terms of expectations of a 5 day a week practice schedule and weekends in competition.

Interestingly, (1) He is already participating in adult one design classes which he finds fun because there is less emphasis on coaching and a pipeline to college sailing. It’s just about the sailing. The adult classes are more exciting boats than 420s and as a youth team, they always get a warm welcome. (2) Among others, he is applying to a school in Southern California (far removed from the hotbed of college racing).

He might not go to a school that makes Co-Ed Finals but I am reasonably confident that his love of sailing is for life and he will transition into adult sailing. I just hope it’s at a club near me and not California! I’m going to miss him. There is nothing, absolutely nothing as rewarding as being on the same race course as your offspring, especially if they are ahead of you.