Mary,

At the spring meeting, Jim did say that they are actively seeking a course as you describe. In fact, on the web link at the top of this thread, he says this:

"In conjunction with any new membership requirement, we are working with affiliated organizations to find new ways to make it easier for sailing to join US SAILING for even less money."

What this would realistically mean is that some amount of money would be added to your class association (or YC) dues, which would then be paid by the class (or club) on your behalf to USSA.

In reality, I don't know how popular this would be. On one hand, it would make joining USSA easier, but may hurt the class membership numbers, since the dues could rise dramatically.

For example, HCA costs $35 per year. Even if they cut USSA's dues in half, that would raise the cost to $65 per year. For a sailor who attends one race per year, that's a pretty big hit.

Mike