Sailing Team Club Sport- Meeting Monday, August 24th

Bellingham Schools
via FinalForms

Good afternoon! 

We are excited to have your student join us for sailing this school year. Since sailing is a club sport that practices offsite, it works a little differently. We will be starting our season with a New Parents + New Sailors Info Meeting on Monday, August 24th, at 7:00pm in the basement of the Bellingham Yacht Club. This meeting is for both parents and students who plan to be on the team and may have questions. Students who have been on the team before are not expected to attend this meeting. Please encourage anyone interested to be there; the Whatcom Sailing team is open to all high school students in Whatcom County. Please reach out if you have questions or are a new parent or student unable to make this meeting. 

 

The Fall 2026 Sailing Schedule is posted on the website: https://www.whatcomsailing.com/schedule

The two most important upcoming dates are below:

Swim Test will be Wednesday, August 26th @ 7:00pm at Arne Hanna Aquatic Center. All students must be able to swim 50 yards and tread water for 3 minutes. 

 

First sailing practice is Tuesday, September 1st @ 3:45 at the Zuanich Point Park Youth Sailing Dock. All practices will meet either at Bellingham Yacht Club or Zuanich Point Park- they are a 5-10 minute walk apart from each other.

 

REGISTRATION & TEAM FEES

Bellingham Public Schools does not charge for high school sports, but the sailing team operates as a club sport and therefore charges dues. Dues are usually $400-450 per season to Whatcom Community Sailing, the nonprofit that runs high school sailing for all students in Whatcom County. This comes out to are $3.50 per student per hour, and is below what it costs to run our programs- but we do NOT want this cost to be a barrier for students; we have both partial and full scholarships available through Whatcom Sailing and another local nonprofit which together fundraise to support this cause. 

 

Fall Sailing registration through Whatcom Sailing will be available on the Whatcom Sailing website on August 24th. 

 

You are receiving this email because you or your student is registered for fall or spring sailing at their high school, but please make sure that all requirements are complete and school forms are signed, and that students are cleared to participate in sports through Final Forms.

 

A sports physical is required, so please get that scheduled ASAP if you do not have a current physical on file with your high school.  

 

Registration and school clearance is required before you can sail at our first day of tryouts on September 1st. For a list of everything that is required, see the Join Page of our website.  

 

Tryouts

The fall sailing team tryout period will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the first week of school, September 1-3. Tryouts are intended to be an introduction to the team and to sailing before we get into more competitive practices and higher expectations. It is an opportunity for students to see if they like the team as much as it is for coaches to see if it's a good fit. Students are not required to know how to sail in order to join the team, but must be ready to learn, move, get wet, and try a new sport! Students must complete registration and the swim test in order to participate in tryouts. We do not cut students unless we have more students than available spaces at tryouts. If cuts must be made, they will not necessarily be made on sailing skills but on attitude- so please bring your best! Sailors who do not remain on the team at the end of tryout week will be refunded their dues.

 

We will go over all this in more detail at the meeting next week, but feel free to contact us if you have questions.

 

Hope to see you and your sailor at the New Parents and Sailors Meeting on August 24th, 7:00pm at Bellingham Yacht Club!

 

 

Best,

 

High School Sailing Coaches Anna and Cooper

Thank you,
Anna Morrow
Bellingham Schools Athletics

Click here to access FinalForms