The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

West Marine is presenting sponsor of the USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festivals, as it has been since the inception of the program in 1997. Gill is also continuing its support of the program as official supplier of technical apparel.

The USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival program is a grassroots youth development program that defines a path for youngsters to become involved in sailing and develop their skills, with a goal of making sailing a life-long sport. While all Festivals incorporate elements of fun and learning, each features different levels of competition. Events range from a Windsurfing Camp in Massachusetts that teaches nearly 100 young sailors about windsurfing to the Orange Bowl Regatta in Florida, which in 2003 attracted a record 620 sailors from 4 countries and 26 states. Since the program first began in 1997, more than 21,000 youth sailors have participated in the program.

The 2004 schedule includes several new events in new locations. This is the first time that a Junior Olympic Sailing Festival will be held in Colorado, hosted by the Carter Lake Sailing in Brighton. Young sailors participating in the new Long Island Junior Olympic Sailing Festival will also be crowding the docks this summer at Sayville Yacht Club in Blue Point, NY. As part of this year's schedule, the US Sailing Center of Martin County will host a Festival in January 2005.

For more information about USA Junior Olympic Sailing, please contact Lee Parks, US SAILING Inshore Director, at 401-683-0800 or via e-mail at juniorolympics@ussailing.org. More information on these events can also be found on the website at the address below.