Update for College Nationals selection

Several years ago, eligibility for college sailing nationals shifted from qualifying through conference championships to a blended system in which a selection committee augments conference champions with teams they deem worthy.

However, any subjective system faces bias, and the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) found a problem when executing their protocol. Greg Wilkonson, ICSA President, explains what happened:

I am writing to share an important update regarding the field for the upcoming Women’s Team Race National Championship. My goal is to be fully transparent about the recent selection process and the Executive Committee’s subsequent decision to ensure the integrity of our process and competition remain intact.

Following the announcement of the initial field, I learned of a deep university affiliation involving one of the selectors. The Executive Committee reviewed the matter and concluded that a deep affiliation did exist and was not disclosed as required.

It is important to acknowledge that this failure to disclose occurred because the selectors were not provided the formal opportunity to do so, and not because any selector intentionally withheld any information.

The Executive Committee also reviewed the selection proceedings themselves. The Committee found that the selection work itself was fair, logical, and without bias.

Faced with these findings, the Executive Committee decided to uphold the original selection while expanding the field to include all teams that reached the final round of deliberations. The final decision, while made by the Executive Committee, is also supported by the selectors involved.

While one of those programs has declined the berth, the remaining three have accepted. This expands our National Championship field from 12 to 15 teams.

College Sailing remains committed to the selection process and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the procedures surrounding it. We are eager to watch the nation’s top programs compete for the Women’s Team Race Nationals Championship in New Orleans.

Schools that accepted the additional berths for the Women’s Team Race Nationals on April 26-27 were Georgetown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

2025-26 Season

2025 Fall National Championships:
November 8-9 – Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – Old Dominion Univ / Norfolk, VA
November 15-16 – Match Race Nationals – St Petersburg Yacht Club / St Petersburg, FL

2026 Spring National Championships:
April 23-25 – Open Team Race Nationals – Tulane Univ / New Orleans, LA
April 26-27 – Women’s Team Race Nationals – Tulane Univ / New Orleans, LA
Women’s Dinghy Nationals – Univ of South Florida / St. Petersburg, FL
Open Dinghy Nationals – Univ of South Florida / St. Petersburg, FL