Sailors,
As we step into 2025, I’m excited to share some important updates with our curious, competitive, adventure-seeking sailors! Our Sunfish® class is nearing 75 years, with 300,000 boats across 30 states worldwide. We’re proud to offer five major regattas and sixteen regional regattas for our members.
As your President, and alongside the Board, we’re confidently sailing into the future with Zim Sailing—the largest small boat manufacturer and distributor in North America—as our new official builder [BREAKING NEWS Nov. 12, 2024]. This change means that, legally, the class can no longer use the Sunfish® brand. To continue growing our community, developing sailors, and expanding membership, we’re working closely with ISCA and Zim Sailing to establish a new name that honors our legacy and fosters continued pride. In the short term, you may see "ISCA" used in place of "Sunfish®" in some contexts.
We’re also excited to announce a new initiative to support our regional representatives with stipends aimed at growing local sailing communities and membership. If you have ideas or suggestions, please reach out to your Regional Representative (RR)—contact details are available on the USSCA Leadership page. Additionally, we are analyzing responses from the USSCA member survey and will share with you key insights that will be used to guide our growth strategy for the class.
You can help grow the class by ensuring your regattas are listed on the USSCA Regatta Calendar. This will help others plan their year and make the most of time on the water with our incredible community. Please send your regatta details to your RR and the Class Office so we can get your regatta the visibility it deserves.
I’m also pleased to announce that in November USSCA applied to the USSF (US Sailing Foundation) for 3 grants for support of USSCA sailors to attend the Worlds in Ecuador this year. All three grants were approved at $1000 each. The applications were for the top qualified sailors from the NA’s, WNA’s and Youth NA’s. USSF agreed with this approach. The recipients are:
- Conner Blouin, Top US Sailor at ‘24NAs, also the 2024 World Champion and 2023 Pan Am sailor for USA,
- Taylor Eastman, 2024 Women’s North American 2nd Place finisher. Taylor graduated from Dartmouth College in 2023 and is an accomplished sailor. She is relatively new to the Class but participated in the WNA finishing a commanding 2nd with 6 first places out of 12 races.
- Brady Schultz, 2024 Youth North American Champion, he is from the GSBYRA. He finished with 8 first places, a commanding lead over the balance of the fleet. He also teaches sailing in Sunfish to adults and youth of all skill levels in group and private lessons. This past summer, he ran an advanced racing class out of Westhampton in Sunfish.
If you haven’t taken the member survey yet, access is now attached to the member signup for 2025. The survey will not connect to your sign-up information so remains anonymous. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey, the link is in your receipt for membership.
This will help prioritize different aspects of our strategic plan and ensure we understand the needs of our membership. We need to hear what you have to say.
As always please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments you may have.
Susan
Susan Mallows
President, USSCA
ussca.president@sunfishclass.org
