Overview

For the upcoming 2024 Sailing Season, Sail Chicago will be implementing a new rollout plan for our courses. The demand for our classes has far surpassed our ability to meet it. As a result, we’re implementing a Pre-registration for previous students and a general lottery for those looking to join and learn for the first time.

Goals:

  • Prioritize previous students and allow them to complete our Learn-to-Sail curriculum.

  • Make general registration as transparent and fair as possible.

Key Dates

  • Late March - All Courses will be published on my.sailchicago.org

  • April 1 - Lottery Registration Opens - Link to Lottery Page

  • April 1 - April 4 - Group 1 (Former First Mate Students)

  • April 5 - April 10 - Group 2 (Former Crew Students)

  • April 10 at 23:59:59 CST - Lottery Registration Closes

  • April 12-14 - Lottery Results Communicated -

  • April 15 - Group 3 Registration Opens

  • April 16 - Group 4 Registration Opens

  • This will continue in 24-hour increments until all courses are filled.

  • May 1st - Any remaining classes are open to the general public

Pre-Registration

(Students from the past 3 seasons ‘21, ’22, ’23)

For those who have recently taken a course with us, you will be offered the chance to register first for your remaining classes.

Group 1 - Those who have completed the First Mate course will be given the first opportunity to register for Skipper Prep classes.

Group 2 - Those who have completed the Crew course can register for the First Mate and the remaining Skipper Prep classes.

General Lottery

The demand for our courses last year was far beyond our expectations. For reference, we have approximately 80 Crew seats available across 20 courses. By the end of the season, there were nearly 450 people on the waiting list.

General Lottery Registration will open on April 1st. The lottery will stay open for 10 days and closes at Midnight on April 10th. On April 11th, the lottery will be drawn and groups of 10 people will be created. If you were drawn into a group, you will be contacted via the email you registered with.

On April 15, Group 3 (the first lottery group) will have the opportunity to register for any open classes. 24 Hours later, the next Group will be granted access to register. This will continue group by group until all classes are filled.

On May 1st - all remaining classes will be open for registration without restriction.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does having a membership increase my odds in the lottery?

    • No. Having a membership does not increase your odds nor does having been a member in previous seasons.

  • Wait, I only have 24 hours to register for a class?

    • No. You can register any time after registration opens up for your group.

  • The class I wanted wasn’t available. Should I just sign up for the next one?

  • I took class X last year and want to retake it. How do I fit in?

    • Requests to retake a course will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Similar to last season, there will be a form (to be linked once it’s created) for these requests.

  • I have prior experience, I want to skip Crew and take an advanced course.

    • If you have not taken a class with us before, you will need to go through the General Lottery or wait until classes have opened to everyone. Last season there were still a handful of seats left in the Skipper Prep classes.

  • I’m in Group X and none of the available classes fit my schedule!

    • Unfortunately, that’s the way things go sometimes. Our lottery grants the chance to Register for a course, not for the course itself.

  • I want to take a class with my partner!

    • With the way the lottery runs, we can’t guarantee you’ll be able to get into the same session.

  • What about Cruising Courses?

    • This plan only pertains to our Learn-To-Sail Curriculum (Crew, First Mate, Skipper Prep). Cruising courses will be announced and rolled out separately.