US Sailing just funded eleven youth sailing centers, and what the money does
US Sailing named eleven youth sailing centers as this year's Reach Initiative grant recipients, funded by Rolex and US Sailing's own donors. The announcement doesn't publish a total, but this is money moving toward the exact gap this project exists to talk about, and it's the part of this week's news I'd rather spend words on.
Reach isn't a curriculum US Sailing hands down from the top. It's a model: pair sailing instruction with STEM and environmental education, and let instructors, engineers, and educators build the lesson around a day on the water. A camper testing water quality with a sample bottle over the side, or building a simple anemometer before ever stepping into a boat, is the shape of a Reach program.
The 2026 recipients span both coasts and the Great Lakes: Alameda Community Sailing Center (Alameda, CA), Bourne Community Boating (Bourne, MA), Community Sailing School Foundation (Orchard Lake, MI), Englewood Sailing Association (Englewood, FL), Minneapolis Sailing Center (Minneapolis, MN), North Star Junior Sailing (Harrison Township, MI), Oregon Youth Sailing Foundation (Portland, OR), Sail Her Dreams (Great Lakes Sailing, Chicago, IL), Sailing Education Adventures (San Rafael, CA), Sarasota Youth Sailing (Sarasota, FL), and Syracuse Sail & Power Squadron (Syracuse, NY).
The grants fund scholarships, instructor resources, and the materials a STEM lesson needs, not just a boat and a life jacket. Alameda Community Sailing Center has run Reach since 2016, and its "Science Fridays" summer sessions put more than 125 campers a session through hands-on activities: building anemometers, testing water quality, working through buoyancy and simple machines. That's a decade of one program proving the model works before this year's grant even lands.
What is US Sailing's Reach Initiative?
Reach pairs sailing instruction with STEM and environmental education, run through nonprofit sailing centers rather than by US Sailing itself. Instructors, engineers, and educators build lessons like testing water quality or building an anemometer around a day on the water.
Can a Canadian sailing centre apply for a Reach grant?
Reach is a US Sailing program for US-based nonprofit sailing centers. Sail Canada runs its own instructor and youth programs, including CANSail, on a separate track.
How much money does a Reach grant actually provide?
This announcement didn't publish a total or a per-center amount. I covered the award ceiling for this cycle, $3,500 per organization, in the September 6 edition. The funding comes from Rolex and US Sailing donors and goes toward scholarships, instructor resources, and STEM program materials.
Sources
- US Sailing Announces 2026 Reach Youth Engagement Grant Recipients, ussailing.org (recipient list, funding sources, program description, Alameda's "Science Fridays" figures)
No affiliation with US Sailing or any recipient organization. Figures as published in US Sailing's own announcement.
