The U.S. Melges 24 Class has been working hard on a brand new initiative — a Collegiate Member Racing program. The purpose of the program works two fold. First, it introduces the Melges 24 to young, aspiring college sailors or those who have just graduated, ultimately making it a more attainable platform to potentially sail, race and experience as a brand new all-Collegiate crew. It also works to build a highly-qualified list of sailors for current Owners looking for crew to race at events around the country, potentially making more boats able to participate and remain competitive.

“We are excited about this new initiative that will help us promote high-performance sportboat sailing to college sailors,” says Tony Stanley, USMCA Southeast District Governor, owner of Hermes and champion of the Melges 24 Collegiate Member Racing program. “We have created a very special Class membership, available at no charge for ICSA Alumni and other sailors in this category. This program will enable next generation sportboat sailors to become Class members and experience the Melges 24 like never before.“

”At the time of joining, they will provide their sailing resume and indicate if they are available to crew at future Melges 24 events. This is a path for young sailors to experience high performance sportboat sailing on the Melges 24. They are the Melges 24 skippers and sailors of the future!”

The U.S. Melges 24 Class is partnering with the South Atlantic Conference of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) to plan out specific events that implement the new Collegiate program. Tentatively, the first event is scheduled for November 18-19, hosted by the Lake Lanier Sailing Club (LLSC) just north of Atlanta, GA. Six Melges 24s have already been secured for what will be a really amazing and fun introductory event.

Do you know a young Collegiate sailor that would love to race a Melges 24?
Here is how they can get started:
• Become a U.S. Melges 24 Class Member. Follow this link and sign-up. It’s easy, quick and it’s free:
https://usmelges24.com/join/collegiate. Make sure they complete all fields on the form as this will provide key information to getting racing on a Melges 24!

These are very exciting times for the Melges 24 Class in the U.S.A. Stay close to the Class website as more announcements will be forthcoming about how young sailors can get involved and owners can invite them to come and race the Melges 24!