An all-girls delegation of the U-High sailing team competed in National Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association All Girls Invitational in San Diego on Oct. 15-16, where they placed 23rd out of 28 teams. 

The sailing team typically competes in coed competitions, so new racing groups had to be formed. 

“Usually there’s more boys on the teams, so we had to switch roles around a little,” crew member Ilana Umanskiy said. “People who were crews had to become skippers, which was kind of difficult.”

Despite challenges, the team placed 2nd out of 11 teams competing at the Midwest Interscholastic Sailing Association Girls Championship on Sept. 24, qualifying them for the national invitational.

“There were challenges, but I think that the balance worked out pretty well,” crew member Clara Blucher said. “The whole sailing team is pretty tight knit. We had good communication skills with each other, it ended up working out well.”

While the team didn’t place as highly competing in San Diego, they were still satisfied with their performance.

“We were taken a bit by surprise because we weren’t sailing the boats we’re familiar with. We were sailing FJs instead of 420s,” Clara said. “Considering the terrain was different and the wind conditions were so different, I think we did really well. Although we didn’t place well, we definitely had some good races, and I’m really proud of us.”