About Sarasota Youth Sailing
Something For Everyone!
Sarasota Youth Sailing (SYS) began as a small summer camp program and has grown into a thriving organization serving approximately 400 youth ages 5-18 each summer. The camp offers one and two-week sessions focused on beginner and intermediate sailing, emphasizing skill development, safety, and confidence on the water.
In 1994, SYS launched its Race Team, with sailors competing at local, regional, and national levels in Optimists, 420s, and Lasers. Today, more than 75 sailors participate in this year-round competitive program. Around the same time, SYS introduced High School Sailing, now supporting teams from multiple local schools and providing student-athletes with opportunities to compete both locally and nationally.
As the program expanded, multihull sailing was added in 2007 to support advanced sailors seeking new challenges. More recently, SYS has continued to grow by offering a variety of programs tailored to different experience levels and interests, including Recreational Sailing and Homeschool Sailing, ensuring accessible pathways for all students to learn and enjoy the sport.
Sailing with Sarasota Youth Sailing is about far more than learning to race- it’s about building skills and relationships that last a lifetime. Through sailing, our athletes develop confidence, teamwork, resilience, leadership, and problem-solving skills that carry into school, careers, and life beyond the water. Along the way, they form lifelong friendships with teammates who share the same passion and values. Our program has also proven that young sailors can truly succeed at the highest levels of the sport: Sarasota Youth Sailing proudly fields a Nacra 15 team on the US Sailing Youth National Team, has sent sailors to compete at the Youth Sailing World Championship, and counts multiple alumni currently campaigning for the Olympic Games, with many more having done so in the past. Countless graduates have gone on to compete in college sailing and earn All-American honors, representing Sarasota on national and international stages. These achievements are possible because of the strong foundation, coaching, and community found at Sarasota Youth Sailing.