Sailing Participation Update July 2026
Posted By:
Bob Shapiro
Posted On: 2026-07-07T15:53:00Z
The GOT (Get Out There) Flashes initiative was introduced last year. It encourages people to get out on a Lightning and log their days. Anyone can participate - skippers, crew, even non-members. The 2026 goal is to double the number of GOT Flashes days logged - 3100 this year vs. 1550 last year. Log your days here https://gotflashes.com/
As of mid-June,105 sailors have logged days in 2026 for a total of 872 days. 34 sailors have already earned their 10 days sticker, 5 a 25 sticker, and several more are within a few days of their 25 days sticker. And the season is just starting for many regions and people. We’ll definitely need to award more than four 50-day burgees in 2026! Read the GOT Flashes blog here
Another participation goal is to have more events for Classic boats this year. A second Classic get together was held in early May at the Indiana Open, fulfilling this goal.
We want to see regatta attendance stabilize and increase at the Local, District, National and International levels. The table below compares registrants at select recurring regattas from the first half of the year. Over all we’re pretty flat - 348 boats last year vs. 337 this year – that’s stability. Growth comes next! Breaking down by type of regatta, Helly Hansen and Southern Circuit stable or up a bit, Regional regattas are up, but District Championships are down. Please get to your Districts!
Three of the four 2026 Helly Hansen Sailing World regattas for Lightnings have been completed. In each of them, Lightnings were either the largest or within 1 boat of the largest one design fleet! Can we keep it up? Come to Marblehead July 24-26. Register here