SCHOLASTIC
& RACE TEAM
RESOURCES

Wayzata Sailing promotes the enjoyment of sailing through educational programming and sailing. We foster teamwork and model good sportsmanship in every aspect of our programs. We deliver high quality coaching through proven instructional techniques. We encourage the development of critical thinking skills and cultivate ethical decision-making, while empowering students to sail competitively in a fun, safe environment.

General Information:

www.wayzatasailing.org

office@wayzatasailing.org

Wayzata Sailing Office Phone: (952) 476-5875 Google Voice Number: (612) 234-1246

(Google Voice Number is shared between WS Office staff, available for text and calling during regattas and other events)

Office hours: 10:00am-3:00pm, T-TH

Student/Coaching hours: 4:00pm – 7:00pm T-TH and 8:00am - 5:00pm S-Su

Director: Matt Thompson

Direct Cell: 952-222-7649

matthew@wayzatasailing.org

Head/Travel Coach: AJ Kozaritz

Phone: (440)-670-6498

aj@wayzatasailing.org

Local Coach: Ezra Haarstad

Phone: (612) 234-1246

ezra@wayzatasailing.org

Benilde-St. Margaret’s:

The sailing team is a partnership between BSM and Wayzata Sailing. Sailing is recognized as a lettering club sport during the Spring and Fall. Students are expected and required to follow all BSM school athletic policies in addition to Wayzata Sailing policies.

Wayzata High School:

Sailing is recognized by WHS as an outside provider activity, not an official team or club sport. Wayzata is now lettering during the fall. WHS students are required to follow all School and Wayzata Sailing policies while representing their school.

Orono High School:

OHS is currently a lettering club sport during the Fall season. OHS students are expected to follow all OHS and Wayzata Sailing policies.

Independent Sailors (Unity High School or other schools WITHOUT teams):

These students may be from schools without an officially formed team, new teams, or from a school with too few sailors to form an official team. Please contact us directly to register. We’ll need to create a school registration link for you.

Chanhassen High School:

The sailing team is a partnership between Chanhassen and Wayzata Sailing. The sailing team is recognized by the school as a lettering club sport during the spring or fall based on student choice. CNS students are required to follow Chanhassen High School and Wayzata Sailing policies at all practices and events.

Providence Academy:

The sailing team is a partnership between PA and Wayzata Sailing. Sailing is recognized as a club sport with lettering opportunities both seasons for student sailors. Students are expected to follow all school athletic policies in addition to following all Wayzata Sailing policies.

Registration for scholastic sailing is split by those sailors wishing to be "travel eligible" and those who wish to only sail "locally". Essentially, travel events take preparation, often requiring early commitment, awareness, and effort. To ensure a quality experience those interested in travelling will need to register for a separate season and by an earlier date. Please see Ultracamp for sessions and options.

Our organizers, the Interscholastic Sailing Association, have made an increasing effort to remove 7th and 8th graders from competition due to their unregistered nature (non-committed to HS). In an effort to allow these sailors to grow, we encourage them to join us for practice at a reduced rate. Unfortunately, due to ISSA rules, 7th and 8th grade students have limited access to HS competition and regattas for the foreseeable future. We advocate for changing those rules and to create competition for these students. Please remain flexible throughout the season and understand that they are not our rules to control.

Location:

• Mike Plant Community Boathouse: 456 Arlington Circle South, Wayzata, MN

• Pick-up/Drop-off: 1000 Eastman Lane, Wayzata, MN 55391

Practice:

• 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at Wayzata Sailing.

• Please try to arrive in your base layers – preserve practice time!

• Please arrive as promptly as possible.

• Sailors must check in with the coaching staff for boat and pairing assignments at every practice before rigging.

• The Wayzata Sailing coaching staff carefully and thoughtfully choose pairing assignments for the benefit of the individual sailor and for the overall group. If sailors would like to make a request, they may do so. Coaches will make the final decisions.

• Wear weather appropriate clothing and US Coast Guard Approved Life Jacket.

• No clothing storage is available on Wayzata Sailing property.

• Practice sessions will generally include a chalk talk at 4:30 pm and debrief at 6:45pm. These are integral components of practice and attendance is expected.

• No practice is required (except for lettering) but attendance record will be considered when choosing teams for regattas.

A Drysuit is a sealed waterproof outer layer, that allows warmer layers to be worn underneath, and for said layers to insulate without the worry of cold water. It is important to note that while a drysuit has some level of insulation, they are primarily meant to keep water out, and insulating layers are still needed underneath to keep warm!

Wayzata Sailing has loaner drysuits available! Please check in with Matt or Jackson to make sure you're set for the cold this spring!

If you are interested in purchase: zimsailing.com (Zim has a scholastic discount) westcoastsailing.net , velasailingsupply.com

• Open to all ability levels and registered sailors 7-12 grade students on a registered school team

• Local one or two day racing events, in the greater Twin Cities area

• ~$20 per day, lunch is included

• Anyone can sail but teams are arranged by coaching staff, with the priority being participation of all sailors. True teams will be created first; however, mixed teams (multiple schools) may be made to increase opportunity.

• Sailors are required to notify their coach by Tuesday before the event if they plan to participate

• Pairings may not be announced until the morning of the event
  

• These events are organized by the Midwest Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association (MISSA) and may require travel.

• These events are available only to invited sailors chosen from the interest list, unless otherwise specified; rules differ in terms of the number of schools and eligibility.

• Sailors chosen by the coaches to represent their school will work with their team’s liaison to organize travel, chaperoning, and lodging (if required).

* Denotes qualifying event ** Denotes event requiring results from * event to qualify (Regional or National Event)

{NP}Denotes boats are not provided by the host club, and towing is needed

Lettering Criteria (OHS, BSM, CNS, PA)

1. Regattas Participation: Sailors must attend enough regattas to earn 6 regatta points from the following table to be eligible for lettering. Stars indicate a ladder event, with a * indicating the qualifier for a ** event, and a ** indicating a qualifier for a *** event
   

2. Practice Attendance: Sailors are expected to attend at least 24 practices. Any practice missed must be verified and excused by the coaching staff. No unexcused absences are allowed. Homework/studying/rest days may not be grounds for missing practice and is left to the discretion of the coaching staff.
   

3. Coaches/School Discretion: Team attitude and sportsmanship, including attendance, work ethic, and other factors will be considered for letter selection. Some schools may choose not to recognize 7/8th graders.

Lettering Criteria (Wayzata)

1. The individual members of the team must have a time commitment of at least 150 hours, similar to other district activities in which a letter may be earned.
   

2. The participation must be at a level that is considered comparable to high school varsity competition.
   

3. The independent provider club/team/activity must have a competition component, some part of which must be held in Minnesota, must be against other high school programs or clubs, and must be organized in such a way that the general public is aware of and may attend if they choose. The competitions must use a set of standardized rules or guidelines for play/participation. Teams must be able to compete against other teams of similar age, and there must be officials or judges who apply a standard set of judging criteria. What does this mean for Wayzata Sailors? It is a good idea to follow the other schools lettering requirements, but understand that you may need to seek additional regatta lettering points and should not arrive late/leave practice early! LETTERING WILL BE UPDATED ONCE EVENT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE.

As coaches, we determine the type of experience our athletes have with sports. We are committed to the principles of Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). We expect our staff to be Double-Goal Coaches, who strive to win (one goal), while pursuing the more-important goal of teaching life lessons through sports (second goal). More information on the Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Job Description can be found at their website. http://www.positivecoach.org/

Wayzata Sailing Communication Pledge The coaching staff is committed to keeping an open line of communication with the student athletes and their parents/legal guardians. We will do our best to address concerns or questions promptly.

Communication Methods Certain modes of communication work best for certain situations. Please refer to the following list to help us best address your concerns. Please schedule meetings or conferences ahead of time to avoid conflicts with practice, events or other duties. Email or texting should be avoided when concern requires a coaching decision. Face-to-face conversations are the most respectful way to resolve complex issues. Email is a written communication format and is not for items needing an immediate response.

• Texting (non-preferred) Uses: Running late, simple reminders, etc.
  

• Email (non-contentious issues only) Uses: Non-contentious quick question, reporting absences, volunteering, receiving race documents, confirming regatta signups, etc.
  

• Personal conversation (preferred) Uses: discussing potentially contentious issues such as pairings, rotations, sailing time, regatta selections, bullying, personality conflicts, etc. Please consider timing and availability, which may require scheduling a time to talk.
  

• Coaches’ Cell phones Uses: Regatta communication during events - these are personal numbers, please try to restrict calls to work hours or the office phone.
  

Self-Advocacy

Wayzata Sailing emphasizes the development of well-rounded athletes capable of voicing their own concerns. Please encourage your student athlete to become a self-advocate by recommending your student communicate their concerns directly to their coach. We welcome parent communication if students are unable to self-advocate, but please, for the benefit of your student athletes’ growth, self-advocacy should always be your student’s first step toward resolving their concerns. If a student feels uncomfortable talking with their coach, please suggest they try communicating through their team captain for support. Respectful communication is always welcome at Wayzata Sailing. Athlete-to-coach communication is valued and encouraged.

Chain of Communication Should an issue not be resolved through self-advocacy or with the help of the team captain, a face-to-face meeting should be scheduled with the Director. Should an issue remain unresolved, a Wayzata Sailing board member will act as a Parent Liaison.

Contact Times Please be respectful of the coaching staff schedule. Our staff will respond as soon as possible during our office and business hours. Please be aware that many of our operations during the season are on water or out of town, which may cause delays.

Coaching Communication

The Wayzata Sailing coaching staff will send out a weekly email providing general updates and pertinent information.

We strive to provide an environment that consistently supports ethical behavior and good sportsmanship. We proactively stress making sound decisions upfront versus amending the consequences of poor choices retroactively. Our commitment to reinforcing ethical decision-making gives our sailors the opportunity to develop valuable life-skills. We champion the skills our sailors need to be successful members of their communities now and in the future. Parents, you hold the keys to strengthening your student athletes ethical behavior and thoughtful decision-making by modeling good sportsmanship and standing behind the process used by Wayzata Sailing staff to resolve issues.

Expectations for Sailors

• Learn and abide by the Racing Rules of Sailing. Promptly take a penalty or retire when you have broken a rule, or file a protest when appropriate.

• Obey event regulations on and off the water, including housing rules.

• Sailors come to all practices and events organized and prepared. Sailors are responsible for their own equipment.

• Honor the sport by respecting all competitors, coaches, volunteers, rules, equipment, race officials, the venue, and housing officials.

• Alcohol and other substances have no place at any youth sailing event.
  

Expectations for Parents

• Support the coaches’ decisions. The coaches have the best interests of your student athlete and their team at heart.

• Place life lessons, sportsmanship, and fun before winning.

• Emphasize performance goals rather than outcome goals.

• Promote the total sport of sailing, not just racing.

• Honor the sport by respecting all competitors, coaches, volunteers, rules, equipment, race officials, the venue, and housing officials.

• Uphold event regulations on and off the water.

• Learn and understand the rules and structure of sailing competition.

• Alcohol and other substances have no place at any youth sailing event.

• Assist all sailors to develop to their fullest potential.

• Expect your sailor to be organized and responsible for his or her own equipment.

Selection and pairings for events and practices are made at the coach's discretion. The entire coaching staff puts a significant amount of time and thought into making these decisions. Selections are made in the best interest of the entire team. Be advised, selections and pairings may ask an individual sailor to make adjustments in order to keep the entire team at its best. The coaches’ decisions will be based on a variety of factors including but not limited to:

• Attendance

• Performance at practice

• Performance at events (past and present)

• Ability to fill multiple roles

• Leadership qualities

• Participation in team functions

• Self advocacy

• Attitude

• Sportsmanlike behavior

• Seniority

• Event factors including wind, weather, waves, and current.

Planning Process:

• Coaches will check availability from students at practice or electronically

• Coaches will invite intended squad by posting the invited sailors at practice

• Coach’s EMAIL team selection, NOR, dates, and fees to the selected team

• Coaches may need to facilitate additional equipment for event; however, equipment transportation by parents may be necessary.

• Travel Plans should be cleared through the office to ensure they follow Wayzata Sailing’s travel policies, confirming plans and share relevant contacts.

Chaperones: Parent volunteers are essential to traveling trips and events. They allow our students to travel in safety, while allowing coaches to focus on their duties towards competition and support during the event.

Responsibility and Differing Views: Chaperones on trips act as representatives on behalf of the Wayzata Sailing and our community’s families. Our community is diverse and therefore our parents have a wide range of views on what is acceptable behavior for themselves and their student athletes. As a chaperone it is important to act as a collective parent and respect the values and desires of all families involved.. Please understand that actions or behaviors that are commonplace in your family may not be seen as safe or acceptable in another. These trips are community focused and all families must feel safe with your choices as a chaperone.

Please refer to our ethical behavior policy in addition to this guide. The coaching staff can and should be consulted regularly to both plan and assist with decision making.

Choosing Chaperones: Chaperones volunteer through their Team Liaison who organizes the travel for the team. In some cases, the flexibility of one volunteer may encourage their selection over another candidate (for example, willingness to stay in housing versus a hotel). This is frequently made on a cost and timing basis for the students. While we encourage additional chaperones, cost sharing is only in place for those required to run the trip (for example, extra cars/hotel rooms/etc. necessitated by extra families or parents will not be cost shared by sailors).

Chaperone Guidelines: The points listed below will help guide your decision making as a chaperone. These are intended to keep our students safe and respect the wishes of all families.

SAFESPORT COMPLIANCE

• Volunteer chaperones must take and pass SafeSport Core Training before traveling with, or accepting responsibility for Participants. Training is provided free of charge and takes roughly 90 minutes to complete, and requires a 15 minute (free) refresher yearly.

• Certification Portal and Instructions (link opens in a new tab)
  

Vehicles and travel:

• Chaperones are responsible for driving within the law

• All passengers should ride with seatbelts fastened

• Only chaperones should drive vehicles, regardless of ownership or passengers, no participants shall drive vehicles on an overnight trip.

• Make sure all sailors have sufficient funds and entry paperwork before leaving

• No intoxicating substances of any kind should be taken before transporting student athletes

Lodging:

• Setting a lights out time is suggested

• Rooms should be split by gender and remain so throughout the night

Events:

• Transport all sailors to the venue for report time set by coaching staff

• While coaches are responsible for sailors at the venue, you may be asked to assist with morning registration, supervision, medical issues, or lunch. A chaperone should be available to report to the venue within 20 minutes in case of emergency.

Food:

• Facilitate purchase of food for all regular meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

• Respect budgets of sailors and their families when choosing meal locations

Medical Emergencies:

• Contact coaching staff immediately

• Coaching staff will carry medical information and EMTA documents for all students – these will not be distributed to chaperones

• Do not make judgment calls - allow student’s parents, coaching staff, and medical professionals to solve the situation

Discipline:

• A chaperone’s duty is supervision and safety, not enforcement of policies

• All discipline should start as an opportunity for learning

• Any discipline issues should be immediately reported to staff.

• Decisions made on discipline, like punishments or extra supervision, need to be made by the coaching staff.

Travel Expenses:

• Each sailor is responsible for their: registration fee, housing, and food costs.

• During out-of-state travel the coach’s gas, tolls, hotel, and airfare will be split evenly among the participating student/athletes.

• Coaches’ meals will be paid for by the sailing center.

• Parents may be asked to provide cash before travel based on estimated expenses; unused money will be split evenly and refunded.

• Parents may be invoiced following an event, and after invoicing charges may be applied directly to card on file in Ultracamp registration system.

Trailering to an event

• Coaches will coordinate sailboat towing to events if necessary.

• The team may use class time to load boats onto the trailer.

• Trailer space will be provided on a first come, first serve basis; however, priority will be given to students whose parents are towing to the event and have participated in towing responsibilities.

• Student athletes are responsible for loading and unloading their own boat.

• Students may not tow Wayzata Sailing trailers or equipment.

Local Travel (non-overnight) to Events

• Parents are responsible for transportation and supervision before and after conference events/State Tournament

• Coaches will do their best to estimate and communicate ending times to students at the event, who will communicate to their rides

• For local events ONLY, athletes who are licensed drivers may provide their own transportation to events with their parent’s permission.

Trailering to an event

• Coaches will coordinate sailboat towing to events if necessary.

• The team may use class time to load boats onto the trailer.

• Trailer space will be provided on a first come, first serve basis; however, priority will be given to students whose parents are towing to the event and have participated in towing responsibilities.

• Student athletes are responsible for loading and unloading their own boat.

• Students may not tow Wayzata Sailing trailers or equipment.

At all practices and events, sailors are expected to treat equipment with the utmost care and respect. No sailor will be allowed to leave practice or a regatta before all equipment, including equipment used by their teammates, is properly put away in its appropriate place. While traveling to other venues, sailors are responsible for leaving borrowed equipment in a better condition than it was when received. If sailors must leave a practice or regatta early and cannot fulfill their responsibilities, they must provide advanced warning and request help from their teammates to fulfill their responsibilities.

All aspects of on the water sailing with Wayzata Sailing including racing, drills, and free sailing shall be governed by the racing rules of sailing. When two or more boats collide causing damage to any boat, all parties involved shall follow this procedure:

1. Incident Report

The students shall file an incident report in writing. Report must identify parties involved, incident description, time, place, rule party believe was broken, and the name of each party’s representative.

2. Hearing

On the day of an incident, an informal hearing mirroring the proceedings of a protest hearing shall be held. The coaches will serve as the protest committee. Their decision will be rendered based on the Racing Rules of Sailing. An attempt to contact all interested parties (including boat owners if privately owned boats are involved) by phone will be made or a written summary of the incident will be sent home with the students involved.

3. Responsibility for equipment

The Director shall represent Wayzata Sailing for boats owned by Wayzata Sailing but not for boats chartered at the time of collision. Any appeals based on the decisions made by the coaches shall be filed first with the Director and if necessary, with the Wayzata Sailing Parent Liaison.

4. Repair Costs

Our staff prepares students well to avoid the mistakes that can cause equipment breakages. Wayzata Sailing assumes responsibility for the normal maintenance costs of equipment. Student athletes however will be asked to contribute to these costs if excessive or repeated damage occurs after instruction to prevent such incidents has taken place. Preventable damage may include but is not limited to; laser upper spars, major collisions, dolly fitting failures, etc. Parents will be issued a letter explaining the incident, as well as an invoice for the damage, within 72 hours of the incident. Whenever possible, staff will bill for repair over replacement to control costs.

Wayzata Sailing reserves the right to withhold its equipment or storage space from use by students/families with outstanding damage invoices.

The selection and assignment of Captains may be suspended at any time by coaches, should students be overly focused on positions rather than sailing. Our intention is to create leadership opportunities for our students. Positions should be productive, create active growth in teams, and not become resume fodder. Due to changing team sizes, positions will be offered to students based on the size of a team. Teams with 10 students or under are considered “growth” teams and need development/recruiting focus. Teams with 10-20 students are considered “stable” teams that need both amenities and growth focus. Teams with 20+ students are considered “deep” and need a greater focus on offerings and amenities.

• Growth Teams (10 or fewer registrations):

  • Minimal leadership positions based on growth

  • Positions that may be available:

    • Team Development Chair

    • Team Social Chair
      

• Stable Teams (11-20 registrations):

  • More leadership positions for retention of members balanced against growth

  • Positions that may be available:

    • Captain (competition participation)

    • Captain (recruiting & social)

    • Assistant Captain (junior leadership position to gain experience)

• Deep Teams (20 or more registrations):

  • Increased leadership positions for continued stability of team, including members who are not traveling to events, or making top squad.

  • Creates support for all levels of team member

  • Positions that may be Available

    • Captain (competition participation)

    • Captain (recruiting & social)

    • Captain (merch & team gear)

Assistant Captain (junior leadership position to gain experience)