I have an opinionated view on this topic and even though some people indicate it is not about money I tend to disagree, especially with junior and youth sailing. When you look at sports such as soccer a parent can get there kids into it pretty easy and at a low cost, but for sailing one needs a boat, sailing gear, etc. etc. Another issue is time with sports like soccer you have local leagues and so parents do not have to travel to far to get their kids involved and for big events rides are supplied. With sailing you add up the money, time, and the technical aspects of sailing and it is quite intimidating. With soccer you win as a team, with sailing only a few get rewarded for winning or coming close to it. Kids love to bring home a trophy, ribbon, etc. Kids like getting something external for their efforts especially at an early age and with sailing events you don’t get these early re-enforcers. At an early age (Juniors – ages 6-12) I think the Sabot (to me the opti is way to expensive) or Access Dinghy (with the Access Dinghy juniors with and without disAbilities could race together) would work best to teach basic sailing technique and not scare the youngest of sailors, plus the boats are affordable. Then with youth sailors (ages 13-19) one could use the Hobie 16 (I am a H16 lover so I am biased) for team racing and the Wave for solo racing, once again both boats are affordable and the 16 is readily available used or new throughout the world – big plus). Also the Hobie 16 would allow youth with disAbilities to sail against AD sailors. I am of course always thinking of inclusive sailing for sailors with varying skills and ability levels as well as disAbility levels. Also my daughter (just turned 10) loves to sail with me and solo sail but she is the first to admit that sailing is no fun without other kids and so we should not forget the importance of the social aspects of getting kids involved in sailing.
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<br>So that is my spin on the topic. The following article was in the recent Access Dinghy newsletter, which might shed some light on the fun factor.
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<br>“You can’t catch me” – Idaho, USA
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<br>My twin 6-year-old son, Devry, sailed the Access Dinghy 2.3 solo last Saturday and I was amazed how well he was able to sail it. When it was time to come in we tried to catch him on the Hobie 16 but he kept turning away from us when we got close to him. Just before he turned on a new course he would say “run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I am the gingerbread man.” He would follow this statement with sticking out his tongue or waving at us along with a big cheesy smile. The Access Dinghy has to be the perfect kid’s boat. I was just so impressed with how well a 6-year-old could sail it and how much he loved to sail it. We did convince our son to finally sail to the beach. It’s a day I will not soon forget.<br><br>