About SWYC Juniors

What is a SWYC Junior? Serious sailor, avid fisherman, pesky little kid on the dock, Olympian, future club member? The answer is all of the above. Here at Southwestern we have an active and recognized Junior Program for all.

The Junior Program started just a decade after the inception of the club – in the 1930s. For the next 50 years it remained under the direction of a small group of dedicated parent volunteers. Children learned to sail and race, participating in local Luff-ins and Sabot Nationals. In the 1980’s, major changes were made. The Junior Program moved into a new clubhouse and in 1984, at the recommendation of the Board of Directors, a year-round Program Director was hired. The new director was Jana Odou and – wonderfully – she is still here 26 years later!

The Junior Program today offers many activities for SWYC Juniors. The flagship of the program is our Summer Program which offers sailing and fishing instruction for all levels and is open to children and grandchildren of SWYC members and members of the community. The program emphasizes fun, learning and safety on the water. Children receive instruction in sailing and racing in single-handed boats (Sabots and Lasers) and double-handed boats (CFJ, 420 and 29er). There is also the opportunity for a week of fishing instruction, a day-long fishing trip on a commercial fishing boat and the annual Dutch Shoe race to Coronado.

The Junior Program also offers year-round sailing during the school year, with sailing instruction and practice on Thursday and Friday afternoons and support for weekend regattas throughout Southern California for juniors who are continuing with racing.

And what have we accomplished with all this activity? In addition to hundreds of children who now know and appreciate sailing and fishing, we have produced quite a few award-winning sailors. Our juniors have won the Paul Hartley award and been named as the San Diego Area Yachtswoman and Yachtsman of the Year. They have participated in and won High School Sailing Championships and represented our club at numerous premier sailing events - Governor’s Cup, Youth Championships, Leiter Cup, Sears, Bemis, Smythe and the I-420 World Championships. At the top of the list are our current and future Olympians. Tim Wadlow participated in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics and we currently have two juniors, Caleb Paine and Briana Provancha, accepted for the Olympic Training team.

The Junior Advisory Committee and the Junior Director thank Southwestern Yacht Club for its steadfast support of the Junior Program. As individuals, members have donated time, boats and money and groups within the Club – Anglers, Sail Fleet, the Board of Directors, SWYC Staff and the Southwestern Junior Foundation to mention just a few – have also given their support. Juniors today become members in the future and it is our goal to instill in them a knowledge of sailing and fishing, a respect for the environment in which those activities occur and a love for the camaraderie of belonging to a yacht club.