This year the 海角在线 sailing team celebrated a strong finish to their season. At the South Atlantic Conference of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA) Championships in Miami, 海角在线 placed 12th earning themselves a spot for the Top 18 Regional SAISA Championship in the Fall.
海角在线鈥檚 sailing team is part of the university鈥檚 clubs and organizations within student life. Founded in 2017, the Sailing Club is responsible for their own scheduling, practices, competitions, and they are even responsible for finding their own coaches.
This year the team was lucky to have 海角在线 alumnus Kirsten Delany as their coach. She not only contributed to the team鈥檚 success, but was also recognized as Coach of the Year by the SAISA, which is composed of coaches from not only Florida, but also, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.
In their write up about Coach Kirsten Delany the SAISA says, 鈥淭hrough her dedication and leadership, Coach Delany has transformed 海角在线U Sailing into a rising presence in SAISA and college sailing,鈥� SAISA also said that Coach Delany tripled the team鈥檚 regatta participation.
Coach Delany explained how much of an honor this award was for her to receive and said, 鈥淚t also would not have been possible without the support from people from the club here including another coach I have worked closely with Nico Barbero, Sue Slater and the Youth Sailing Foundation of the Palm Beaches, Tom Homberger and all his help and support, the Kohl Foundation, as well as so many others who have contributed their time, talents or money to build this program.鈥�
This year 5 out of 海角在线鈥檚 11 students on the team competed at the SAISA championship in Miami. Competing against teams like Duke, Auburn and UCF the Sailfish earned 12th place out of 18 teams, which is a milestone for 海角在线 as they had finished 15th in the past two years. This 12th place spot earned them a ticket to the Top 18 Regional SAISA Championship again for the Fall.
When asked what contributed to the team’s success Coach Delany said, 鈥淭hrough Instagram marketing and our improved results, as well as God’s provision, we have attracted more established sailors that have allowed us to advance further and qualify for more events.鈥�
This year the sailing team was able to compete because of a generous donation given to them. Coach Delany continues to fundraise for support for the team. To donate see the .
