Junior Sailors
PLAN Your 2024 Season
Visit I-LYA Regatta Updates on this website. Calendar and Links to Class Sites and Regatta Registrations including I-LYA Junior Championships.
Laser Sailors - Topsail Number to Register
When you register for a regatta, PLEASE use your Topsail Number as your sail number. View assignment (s) here. If you do not know your number, need a number, please check with your coach & contact Ilya.juniors@gmail.com.
This is a list of items that a sailor / race team / coach, etc ‘should’ / ‘could’ have on hand. The list is not a ‘comprehensive requirement’ but is ‘suggested' and is not ‘all-encompassing’, but is a good start. Since most Lasers are self-owned with one crew, it has more of a Laser focus, but it could apply to any class of boat. As always, speak to your parent/guardian, race team and/or coach for applicability. As well as the racing authority, NOR and SIs. Have something to add to the list? Email ilya.juniors@gmail.com
PRACTICE your KNOTS
Check out this helpful tutorial and videos on the important sailing knots! How to Tie Sailing Knots
STAY FIT and ACTIVE
Staying in shape is CRUCIAL for all of us. Think about the muscles you use to sail, to lift boats off of the racks, to swim back to your capsized boat, to roll tack, move around your boat in light winds with agility and grace. You need strong legs, strong arms, a strong back and core. Promise yourself that you will take time to take care of your body every day and do something active. There are a lot of free at-home workout options popping up online from instructors around the country. If you have a coach, ask him or her what they suggest for you to do. Look at Annapolis Sailing Fitness and Sailing Performance Training. Here are a few to check out:
Team Robel/Shea - @robelsheasailing
Learn about the common threads of sailing champions: https://youtu.be/sL-_WFl6B2E
US Sailing Starboard Portal has free sailor fitness sessions. https://www.ussailing.org/starboard-portal/
Stay fit, Set Goals, Learn New Skills
Thanks to all of the online platforms that were developed because of the pandemic, there are many ways to build your sailing skills and learn from some of the best world-class sailing experts!
Watch discussions - live and recorded - with Olympic sailors, world-class coaches, and teams, covering EVERYTHING sailing-related.
Exclusive Access to the Best in our Sport
In collaboration with the leading voices in our sport, US Sailing brings you Youth Racing Central created to support you and your sailing goals. Youth Racing Central provides unlimited access to videos featuring racing tips and development strategies from sailing experts.
The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2021-2024 takes effect on January 1, 2021. US Sailing developed a new mobile-optimized Racing Rules App that includes the racing rules and other resources, including the ability to file a protest through the app, a whiteboard for diagramming boat-on-boat interactions, and an extensive resource library. The text of the rulebook is fully searchable and there is also a traditional index. Here is the link to download the app and to get more information: https://www.ussailing.org/news/rulesapp-download/
As the America's Cup is happening through March in New Zealand, follow the race, the American contender American Magic and more on social media and at americascup.com. This recent post has a great set of explainers on general racing rules. Check it out:
LOOK AHEAD, SET GOALS, LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Set goals for your summer.
Are you planning to try a new boat? Moving from Opti to Laser, or Laser to Club420, skipper to crew, whatever your change - look up videos to get ahead of your peers and figure out what it will take to start strong as soon as we can get into our boats!
LEARN NEW TACTICS/SKILLS
US Sailing's Starboard Portal has lots of resources, from tactics to fitness to program management ideas. https://www.ussailing.org/starboard-portal/
Follow Olympic Sailors on Social Media for fun and for learning. YouTube is a great place to start to find best practices, videos of junior sailing, Olympic sailing, and big boat sailing worldwide. Check out things like Sail GP, Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup, Foiling Videos, College Sailing, High School Sailing, Laser, search for Opti Sailing Extreme or club 420 extreme for some really fun videos.
How to recovery from an Opti Capsize (illustrated with Legos!)
Follow @SeaTactics for Weather webinars.
Have links and ideas for more great content? Please email them to ilya.juniors@gmail.com