Scouting America and Sea Scouts to celebrate first World Sailing Day on May 28

Scouting America and Sea Scouts to celebrate first World Sailing Day on May 28 © World Sailing Day

With just days remaining until the inaugural World Sailing Day on 28 May, participation and recognition continue to expand internationally across yacht clubs, sailing schools, marinas, museums, marine businesses and now increasingly among youth sailing and maritime organizations.

Together, they are helping establish this new international observance celebrating seamanship, maritime heritage and the future of sailing.

Among those youth organizations celebrating World Sailing Day is Scouting America with its longstanding Sea Scout traditions, which for generations have introduced young people to leadership, seamanship, adventure and life on the water. As one of the largest youth-organizations in the United States, Scouting America's participation is viewed by organizers as an important signal of the growing international relevance of World Sailing Day and its long-term educational and community objectives.

Organizers of World Sailing Day say the involvement of Sea Scouts and maritime youth organizations is especially significant because they help create long-term pathways into sailing while strengthening connections between young people and the wider maritime world, including yacht clubs, sailing schools, maritime museums, marinas, waterfront communities and marine industries.

Sal Ciampo, National Sea Scout Commodore of Scouting America, commented:

"The annual observance of World Sailing Day on 28 May represents an important opportunity to celebrate seamanship, adventure, leadership and maritime heritage, while also helping introduce new generations to life on the water and to vocational opportunities across the wider marine sector.

"World Sailing Day provides a shared international moment for Sea Scouts and maritime youth communities to connect with the wider global sailing world, promote youth participation and highlight the positive values of teamwork, responsibility, confidence and respect for the sea."

According to Simon Oberholzer, founder of World Sailing Day Organization (WSDO), the participation of scouting and youth organizations reflects one of WSDO's central objectives: helping make sailing more visible, more connected and more accessible to future generations around the world.

"Youth organizations play an essential role in the future of sailing and seamanship. Through adventure, education, leadership and connection with the water, organizations such as Scouting America help young people build confidence, practical skills, leadership and lifelong relationships with maritime culture and the sea."

"World Sailing Day also creates an opportunity to connect these youth communities internationally with maritime museums, yacht clubs, sailing schools, marinas, sailors and the broader marine sector through this shared annual observance."

World Sailing Day has been established as an annual observance intended to unite and amplify the global sailing and maritime community through coordinated visibility, local participation and public engagement.

Organizers also believe that strengthening connections between youth communities and the wider maritime world can help support the long-term future of sailing and long-term engagement across the entire marine ecosystem.

World Sailing Day also encourages clubs, schools, museums and marine businesses to support and welcome young people from these organizations into the wider sailing and maritime community.

WSDO emphasizes that participation in World Sailing Day does not require large budgets or complex events. Participation can take place in simple but visible ways, ranging from social media engagement and wishing others a 'Happy World Sailing Day', through to sailing try-outs, industry open days, educational activities, yacht club and museum visits, marina activations, maritime heritage storytelling and evening boat illumination displays. In order to help facilitate, promote, and even help fund these activations, WSDO has created a content and media hub and partner program.

The primary objective of this inaugural year is to firmly anchor 28 May as World Sailing Day and to grow its long-term international recognition while strengthening connections across the global sailing and maritime community. World Sailing Day is designed as a decentralized international participation platform where communities around the world organize and share their own local activities under one globally recognized annual observance that helps connect the sailing community with future generations.