Learning to sail can be daunting. Especially if you are only sailing with boys. This the reality for girls in sailing in Canada. The inequity of sailing is real. 

The question becomes how we can change the learning to sail for girls to reflect their needs and make them comfortable in being on the water? Too often, girls are bullied on the start line of regattas, female coaches intimidated by race officials, and male sailing school students playing aggressive games. All are reasons for girls to drop out of learning to sail programs. 

The lack of support and shared experiences amongst girls in sailing must change.

This is where Leapsailing.com comes in. This group, which is an acronym for Leadership, Empowerment, Adventure Programming focuses upon sailing as a skill development sport that can encourage those who identify as female to be part of the sailing culture. 

We are a group of women who have had several years’ experience in the sailing world. We have witnessed our daughters suffer aggressions and judgments, or as race officials see girls struggle to combat the older boy’s intimidation on the racecourses, or even as Olympian athletes to receive enough funding to develop and promote their talent. 

Understanding the reasons why girls do not participate in learning to past their initial introduction, or why they do not compete in regattas, has been the Leapsailing group’s goal. 

We discussed the many way girls are not encouraged to stay in the sport. Reasons such as;

 

• • The boats are too big to handle- especially when they progress past their first level of sailing

• • The lack of girls to share in their daily experiences on the water

• • No female instructor role models

• • Unconscious bias by instructors to assume girls can’t helm or lead a boat 

The development of a girl culture in sailing must be intentionally committed to. 

Leapsailing is committed to sharing information on the state of girls/women in sailing and providing a voice to promote and produce girl-oriented sailing events.