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The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is a volunteer organization that serves as the governing authority for all sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada.
College sailing has been in continuous existence for over a century and the first college sailing club was founded in 1881 when the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club was established in Branford, Connecticut. Organized intercollegiate racing began in 1928 between just a few schools and has since grown to include 218 member programs (150 regular, 19 provisional, 49 associate), though not all continue to compete actively and consistently. While many colleges field fully funded varsity teams, the majority of programs compete as club teams (though several club teams, such as the University of Vermont and the University of Rhode Island maintain top-level programs despite their sub-varsity status).
Examples of Universities that field varsity teams include:
Examples of Universities that field club teams include:
ICSA seeks to promote the sport of sailing throughout North America and encourage participation in the sport among young people. Although both varsity and club teams compete fiercely to qualify for district championships and nationals, the overall goal is to promote sailing and have fun on the water. Thus, most college sailing programs do not require previous sailing experience and encourage widespread participation among students. However, most schools also value students who have high school sailing experience.
There are seven District Associations within ISCA that schedule and administer regattas within their established regions:
Each district is supervised by a Graduate Secretary and an Executive Committee, which comprises both graduate and undergraduate students. Both the Graduate Secretary and the Executive Committee are elected by representatives from each school in the district. Each district conducts local and intersectional regattas and holds district championships in both the fall and the spring. These district championships allow schools to qualify for the Intercollegiate Sailing Association National Championships.
The ICSA College Sailing Hall of Fame[4] was established in 1969. The Hall of Fame is located in the Robert Crown Sailing Center[5] at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
There are several awards that are bestowed upon collegiate sailors at the end of every full racing season:
As education and training have been two cornerstones of the ICSA since its inception most college sailing programs offer general instruction to the student body, and in some cases the general public. Often college sailing programs serve to introduce many people to the sport of sailing.
Many college sailors have gone on to race in the America's Cup as well as in the Olympics.
Vanguard Sailboats has been an official partner of ICSA for many years and the boatbuilder annually sponsors the ICSA National Championships.