Registration 2025

NYSS SUMMER 2025 REGISTRATION INFORMATION

FOR RETURNING FAMILIES, THERE WILL BE A 36 HOUR
“EARLY-BIRD” REGISTRATION WINDOW BEGINNING AT
10:00 A.M. EASTERN TIME ON SATURDAY APRIL 19, 2025.

RETURNING FAMILIES WILL RECEIVE DETAILS VIA EMAIL

GENERAL REGISTRATION WILL OPEN AT 10:00 A.M. EASTERN
TIME ON SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2025

INITIAL LIMIT OF TWO SESSIONS PER STUDENT

TUITION IS $210 PER SESSION ($170 FOR WEEK 1 SESSIONS)

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION DETAILS

Happy Spring! We are very excited for the 2025 NYSS summer sailing program.

36-Hour Early Registration Window For Returning Sailors – 10:00 a.m. Saturday, April 19 to 10:00 p.m. Sunday, April 20 (Eastern Time).

Due to high anticipated demand for both new and returning sailors, and because of the importance we place on programmatic continuity for our young sailors, our returning sailors will be offered an early registration window before we open registration to new families.  As noted below, new families with children on waiting lists who can’t be accommodated this summer will be eligible for the early registration window for 2026.

Returning families: You will receive class level placement information for your sailor(s), as well as information regarding Early Bird registration, by email. This will be sent to the email address(es) that you used when you registered through the Active Networks platform last year. Please be sure that you have both of the following email addresses on your “safe senders” email list (and/or check your “bulk” or “spam” email folders): [email protected] and [email protected]. 

General Registration for new families will open at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, April 26th, 2025. We will be using the registration platform, Active Networks, which will be linked at the end of this page when registration opens.

There is a LOT of information to digest on this page. Because we expect high demand this summer, it is very important that you have all the necessary information ready to go before you begin the process of logging into the registration system. Accordingly, please read the following information carefully. Please contact us by email at [email protected] with any questions or concerns. While email is preferred, you may also contact us at (231) 943-NYSS (6977). Select Option “2” for Registration.

Week 1: June 30 – July 3 (NO CLASS ON JULY 4th)
Week 2: July 7 – 11
Week 3: July 14 – 18
Week 4: July 21 – 25
Week 5: July 28 – August 1

We have made the difficult decision to increase tuition to $210 per class ($170 per class for the 4-day sessions in Week 1).  Despite significant inflation, we have kept our tuition flat since 2021.  Please bear in mind that even with this increase, tuition covers less than 50% of the cost of our program.  This increase will help us to continue to hire and retain our wonderful instructional staff.

Thanks to the generosity of the Leelanau Township Community Foundation (and other donors) scholarships are available for youths who are year-round residents of Leelanau Township.  These scholarships are limited to one scholarship per participant.  Eligible participants – check the box marked “Yes” in response to the question regarding year-round Township residency during the registration process.

We also have a limited number of need-based scholarships for non-Leelanau Township youths who need financial assistance, as well as for Township youths who wish to sail for more than one week but require financial assistance beyond the automatic Township scholarship. Please contact us so we can discuss your circumstances.

You may cancel your registration up to two weeks before the first day of class, subject to a $20.00 cancelation fee for each individual canceled session.  Cancelations received less than two weeks from the first day of class are non-refundable. (OPTIONAL Cancelation “insurance” is provided by Active Networks.)

INITIAL TWO-SESSIONS-PER-STUDENT LIMIT

Due to anticipated demand for our classes, and in order to make our program available to as many sailors as possible, we are asking that both new and returning families limit their initial registrations to no more than two sessions per student.  Please contact us if your sailor wants to sail for more than two sessions.  After the initial wave of registration in April and May we will be able to attempt to accommodate sailors who want to add additional sessions.

We anticipate that several classes may fill up quickly this year. However, as in the past, we may have the ability to create additional class space as the registration process moves forward. Accordingly, if there is not an open class that works for you, please make use of the waiting lists. We will do our best to keep you posted as and when we know that we will have room to accommodate your sailor.  In addition, families on a waiting list who we are unable to accommodate this year will be given early-bird registration priority for 2026.

Our classes fall into two categories: (a) those for new sailors; and (b) those for returning sailors and/or sailors with relevant experience from another program.

Little Puffs and Beginners: New sailors who are ages 8 and 9 should register for the Little Puffs class.  New sailors ages 10 and up should register for our Beginners class. If your new sailor is 8 or 9 and you are signing up for two weeks of classes this summer, you should sign the sailor up for Little Puffs for their first week, and Beginners for the second week.

Intermediate, Advanced Double-Hand, Advanced-Single Hand: These classes are for returning NYSS sailors who have completed the pre-requisite classes, or sailors with relevant experience (see below). 

Returning Sailors – 2025 Placement List: Returning families will receive a 2025 Registration Information email, with a copy of the 2025 Placement List attached, by April 1, 2025. If you do not receive that email, or need a copy of the Placement List, please contact us by email at [email protected]. Please note: Our Instructors have put a lot of thought into placing your sailor into the appropriate class level based upon their experience last summer.  Please do not register your sailor for a level other than that shown on the Placement List even if you are registering for more than one week.

New NYSS sailors with prior experience: If this is your sailor’s first time sailing with us, but they have prior experience elsewhere, please email us with the relevant details (including the type(s) of boat sailed, program length, and nature of instruction received) so that we can determine the best placement for your sailor.

Ability to swim: All sailors must be able to swim and must be comfortable in the water.

Minimum Age: All sailors must be at least eight (8) years old or turning eight (8) before September 1, 2025, and the registration platform will not permit registration of younger sailors. While we understand that there may be some “mature” seven-year-olds, we cannot make any exceptions.

Older beginners:  Our Beginner and Intermediate classes are taught in Optimist prams, the largest class of sailboat in the world, and the boat in which most Olympic sailors got their start.  These boats are raced competitively around the world by sailors up to and including 16 years of age. However, some older youths, as well as youths who are significantly above average height for their age or who weigh over 120 lbs., may be very cramped in our Optis.  We are often able to accommodate these youths by using another type of boat in our fleet. Please contact us if you have any concerns about this.

Weight: We have minimum weight requirements for our Advanced Double-Hand (70 lbs.) and Advanced Single Hand (100 lbs.) classes. These minimums are designed to ensure that the boats can be sailed safely, with the sailor able to keep the boat upright in windy conditions.

Strength: Almost anyone can learn to sail, and beginners of all types will quickly develop the coordination and agility necessary to sail.  However, boats do frequently capsize – it’s part of the fun – and it is important that our sailors have the upper body strength necessary to get back in the boat.

For each sailor that you plan to register, please ensure that you have the following information handy when you access the registration platform:

• Height, weight, and date of birth;
• For returning NYSS sailors, placement information from the 2025 Placement List;
• Date of the sailor’s last tetanus shot; 
• Any known medical conditions; and
• Cell phone number and email address for the person who will be the local “emergency contact” for the sailor in Northport during the class session.

During the registration process, please carefully review our NYSS Consent to Participate/Assumption of Risk as well as the CDC’s two-page Parent/Athlete Concussion Information Form, both of which must be signed to complete registration and participate in the program.

The best recipe for the registration process to go smoothly is good communication. Accordingly, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have, or for clarification of any of the above information.  We greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation and flexibility in this process, and we are really looking forward to seeing you and your sailors on the Northport waterfront this summer!

The NYSS Staff

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (231) 943-NYSS (6977) (press option 2)