Registration open for the 2022 Junior Olympic 'Performance' Sailing Festival at Pensacola YC

This will not be a racing event, rather an introduction to performance sailing with hands-on experience with all this new equipment, with leading coaches for each class and industry partners participating © Allison Chenard / US Sailing

Try your hand at Wingsail foiling. Junior sailors are invited to Experience Performance Sailing at a Fast & Fun Festival © Gwen Le Tutor, Cabrinha Photographer / videographer

Registration is now open for the New 2022 Junior Olympic 'Performance' Sailing Festival at Pensacola Yacht Club June 10-12. Youth sailors, coaches and parents are all encouraged to attend.

However, this festival is limited to the first 60 junior participants and their parents or coaches. Enter now. Registration and more details here.

Youth sailors will experience Performance Sailing in a "Fast & Fun" Festival environment at this New US Sailing JUNIOR OLYMPIC 'Performance' SAILING FESTIVAL Introducing Performance Sailing to America's Junior Sailors on Pensacola Bay, Florida at Pensacola Yacht Club, June 10-12, 2022.

"US Sailing is partnering with Pensacola YC to design and organize the prototype for this new (old) Junior Olympic Festival format." said John Pierce, US Sailing Youth Competition Manager. "The Pensacola YC event will be the first of about a dozen similar events strategically placed around the USA. And Pensacola YC will be the first to have a totally new all-FESTIVAL format."

The New Festival Format featuris On-Water Boat Demos and On-Shore Festival Activities focused around Fast & Fun Sailing, new designs and new techniques from flying to foiling.

Select industry partners will support the new festival format so the young sailors will be introduced to multiple newer sailing design experiences including high performance platforms. - photo © Talbot Wilson

This USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festivals are NEW for 2022 with an updated format, returning to the original mission to capture the Olympic spirit and introduce youth sailors to their next steps in the sport. Each festival will feature on-water boat demos and on-shore activities for youth racers to experience fast, fun, modern sailing and learn from industry experts.

It's a NEW JO Festival designed to be Fast & Fun. The young sailors will be introduced to multiple newer sailing design experiences including high performance platforms such as sport boats, skiffs, catamarans, foilers, windsurfers and a wing foiler design - photo © Medora Media

Key highlights of the festival:

• Boat demos featuring modern boats and boards
• On-shore education and activities for youth racers
• Modular format gives participants the chance to engage in multiple activities
• Parent education on racing pathways, Olympic development, college sailing, and more

This special event will use a modular clinic format to introduce youth sailors to a range of performance boats available for sailing and/or demonstration:

• Performance skiffs: 29er, O'pen Skiff
• Foilers: Cabrinah Wing Board, IQ Foil, UFO, NACRA 17
• Training: 29er, NACRA 17
• Sportboats: VXOne, Viper 640

Each boat will have approximately 1-1/2 hour group sessions on land and in the water. Participants will be divided into subgroups that will rotate between the different boats during the day. A specific schedule will be developed once registration is complete.

O'pen Skiffs will be available for younger sailors to experience the New Fast & Fun of sailing. - photo © O'pen Skiff

Pensacola Yacht Club sits on 22 acres where Bayou Chico flows into Pensacola Bay. Small boats ike these 301 Optis, launch from the 250 foot beach. Plenty of trailer space is available for boat storage between regattas. Pensacola YC is known as the South's - photo © Barnes&Co / Pensacola YC