Kaylie Gallagher is an athlete and staying active is important to her. In high school, Kaylie made it a priority to participate on a sports team every season. She loves to compete and wants to be part of that special camaraderie, so often prevalent in team sports. When she was a freshman, four years ago, at Old Dominion University, Kaylie was determined to find a team to join. Fortunately, Kaylie had a friend on the sailing team who encouraged her to try the sport. She took her friend up on the offer, learned to sail, tried out for the team and made the squad.
“I decided to sail in college because I have always been an athlete and played a sport every season like running, swimming, and lacrosse,” said Kaylie. “I couldn’t see myself not competing as an athlete, so I was really excited when the coaches contacted me about joining the team.”
Kaylie was introduced to US Sailing following her freshman year at Old Dominion, when she became a member through her participation in the Small Boat Level 1 Instructor Certification course. She wanted to coach in youth sailing programs at the Pleon Yacht Club during the summer.
Kaylie understood and valued how important it is to be a member of US Sailing if you are involved in the sport in the U.S., which is why she took the 100% US Sailing Challenge.
“Many of the people on my team had already gotten the membership for regattas not affiliated with ODU, while others had walked-on to the team and never heard of US Sailing.
“To get members of my team to join, update, or renew their memberships, I described to them what US Sailing does to help support our sport and serve sailors. Through team-talks and our private Facebook page, I talked about the importance of having sailing rules to follow, educated judges at our events and the importance of growing the sport of sailing.
“We could also get team recognition for being the first team to have 100% membership in US Sailing, which helps our team get more recruiting opportunities. We can help US Sailing build their rapport with college teams across the country, as well as help US Sailing better understand what college students need from their National Governing Body.”
Kaylie’s biggest challenge was getting the graduating seniors to join. Her teammates could join US Sailing through the college membership option, which allows these graduating seniors, and any college aged sailor, to take advantage of a special four-year membership, valid from the date of purchase, regardless of when they graduate.
She also presented them with the option to join through the MVP Program to receive a discount for the standard US Sailing individual membership. As an MVP member, Old Dominion receives credits for every member who joins or renews and can use the credits to pay for US Sailing training programs, supplies from the US Sailing Store, symposium registration fees, and more.
“US Sailing has worked with our team members and helped us understand how important it is to support the sport. When we became the first team to be 100% US Sailing, we were rewarded with customized socks that make us look good, as well as ‘kill it’ on the race course!”
Find out how your high school, college, or club team can rock 100% US Sailing socks in your team colors. Take the 100% US Sailing Challenge today!