This year will be unlike any other for the Texas A&M sailing team, with practices moving online and competitions being canceled.
The team is looking to continue their success by teaching their new members valuable sailing lessons like how to rig and derig through online videos and small in-person practices.
Lyndsey Sager is heading into her senior season as the sailing president. She said the team lost several players to graduation last year and were hoping to use this season to train new members.
“With us graduating a lot of our active and experienced members last year, this year was going to be a very big growth opportunity for us, but with the restrictions of COVID, we have been struggling with that same recruitment,” Sager said.
The team has been grateful for returning members who are helping to recruit despite their limitations, Sager said.
“We are trying to do our best,” Sager said. “We still have our members who are trying to be super active and get people involved while still trying to follow protocols.”
Sager said recruitment has been different this year with everything going online, but the team has found other opportunities to spread the word.
“We have done virtual Rec-A-Palooza and virtual informationals toward the beginning of the semester to get to know people who are interested in joining,” Sager said.
There is no application needed to join. The team accepts new members at any time of the semester.
In-person practice started on Monday, Sept. 14, for new and returning members.
“We will be doing practices Monday through Friday with two practices within that time period since we have everyone separated into different cohorts to go by COVID guidelines,” Sager said.
The team practices at Lake Bryan, and has had to overcome obstacles to make those in-person practices a reality.
“We have been doing a lot of reorganizing schedules to make this happen,” Sager said.
Most people join the sailing team with little to no experience at all, Sager said.
“I grew up sailing as a kid, but some of the best sailors that I know had no idea what sailing was until they joined freshman year,” Sager said.
Sager said the sailing team prides itself on taking time to teach the new members how to sail and that passion has not waned through the switch to an online format.
“We have been creating new videos for our new members to watch, to teach people virtually,” Sager said. “That way, when we are in person, we can get right to doing things hands-on since we’ll have limited time.”
The experienced, returning members have been going out to Lake Bryan to film informational videos.
“Our officers’ group have gone out and recorded videos of us rigging and derigging boats and explaining things on the water,” Sager said. “Basically us teaching different things of sailing so we can send them out and have everyone review them so that when they come they are more prepared.”
Sager said the lessons team members learn through sailing will come in handy even after college.
“Sailing is a lifelong sport, so these lessons will continue even after college,” Sager said.