West Coast Sailing Youth Programs Win US Sailing Awards

The recent US Sailing National Sailing Programs Symposium in Savannah, GA, also presented awards for community sailing programs across the country. Two California programs were among the winners: Alameda Community Sailing Center (ACSC) and Mission Bay Aquatic Center in San Diego.

Kudos to ACSC founder Kame Richards and Executive Director Emily Zugnoni, and the entire board of directors, for establishing a new community sailing program on the west shore of Alameda, behind Encinal High School. ACSC was founded in 2013 and now, a decade later, it has become the recipient of US Sailing’s national Outstanding Community Sailing Program Award.

The award is given annually to a program that has made notable contributions to promote public access to sailing.

Alameda Community Sailing offers a robust assortment of learn-to-sail programs, day camps, after-school sailing, adult and family classes, US Sailing Instructor Certification courses, Open Sail Saturdays, the occasional regatta, and Community Sailing Days open to all with free life-vest giveaways. ACSC also provides needs-based scholarships, and granted over $50,000 in sailing camp scholarships in 2023. They have formed partnerships with local community groups in Alameda and the San Francisco Bay Area to recruit and retain sailors from non-traditional sailing backgrounds.

As Emily described, the program began with a summer camp serving 75 children sailing in hand-me-down boats, using donated dock space at Ballena Isle with just one 1974 Boston Whaler safety boat. Ten years later, it serves ~600 children AND adults sailing in over 50 boats, out of their own site near the Encinal boat ramp, with a fleet of eight safety boats (including that 1974 Boston Whaler). The scholarship program has been so successful that nine out of the nearly 30 current staff members were previous sailing scholarship recipients! More information on ACSC can be found at www.sailalameda.org.

In Southern California, US Sailing’s national award for Outstanding Organizational Leader was given to Paul Lang of San Diego, CA.

The Outstanding Organizational Leader Award honors an exceptional individual who has made notable contributions to an organization that have resulted in membership growth or positive financial development, or increased community awareness or integration.

Instructional Manager Paul Lang has led a staff of almost 50 sailing instructors and over 90 more wakeboarding, surfing, and paddling instructors to teach water sports activities to over 40,000 participants at Mission Bay Aquatic Center (MBAC). Paul has ensured accurate grading for more than 1,500 students in MBAC’s college credit courses, and somehow finds additional time to volunteer for several committees within US Sailing. Paul has demonstrated extraordinary performance for MBAC, the San Diego area, and the Southern California region this year.

Congratulations to the staff and crew at Alameda Community Sailing Center, and Mission Bay Aquatic Center’s Paul Lang.