Take advantage of the educational opportunities of AYC and ASF...

Top ASF Education Programs:

Junior Sailing

Adult Classes (Start Sailing Right, Powerboat, and Introduction to Sailboat Racing)

High School and College Sailing

Here's the ASF Calendar

Here's how you or your kids can learn to sail.

We love sailing and we love to help other people learn to sail!

We teach you to sail the fun way—with maximum time on the boat. A little classroom, a lot of boat, and you're soon scooting across Tempe Town Lake powered by nothing but the wind. What a kick.

ASF is the nonprofit, educational arm of the Arizona Yacht Club and we have oodles of classes for kids and adults. For the kids it can begin with a Junior Opti class and progress through multiple levels (if they want to) until they're competing internationally in sailboat races. Several of our kids have done exactly that. If you're an adult, try out sailing with our Start Sailing Right class, where you spend more time on the water than you do in a classroom (but you'll still get all the necessary theory and jargon in the classroom).

ASF has a fleet of instructional boats kept in the marina at Tempe Town Lake, including Optis, Sunfish, Capri 14.2s, Lasers, and 420s. There are two powered support boats and at least one is always on the lake during every class.

We have nearly three dozen volunteer US Sailing qualified sailing instructors and six US Sailing qualified powerboat instructors (to teach powerboating and to drive the safety boats). Rob Gibbs heads our educational programs as our part-time, paid Director of Education. Read Rob's sailing blog.

Naturally a nonprofit program of this scope needs contributions and we welcome yours. If you have a boat (of any kind in seaworthy condition) or trailer, consider donating it to ASF and receiving a tax deduction. Or simply contribute money. Thanks!

Here's the ASF Calendar

An approved nonprofit

ASF has 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status by the Federal government. That means contributions you make to ASF will be deductible on your income tax return. Click here to learn how you can donate a boat. Click here to donate money to ASF using our secure, online system.

Would you like to transfer some appreciated stock to ASF? Here are instructions on how to do it.

Here are PDF documents offering considerable detail on ASF's 501(c)(3) status.
Here's the Internal Revenue Service determination letter (228 Kb)
The approved application to the IRS (2.6 Mb)
And here is the most recent tax return (263 Kb).

Contacts

President: Maryellen Ferring
Sailing Director: Rob Gibbs - 602.574.3000
Junior program: Rob Gibbs
High school club and intramural program chair: George Tingom
College programs chair: Mark Deardorff
Other board members: Leo Bauman, Mark Deardorff, John Mayall, John Riddell, Stephen Zambroski

And check out this AYC educational opportunity:
Challenger Fleet Race Training

The mission: The Arizona Sailing Foundation, Inc., will provide fun, safe, community based education in the art of sailing on a non-discriminatory basis.

The Arizona Sailing Foundation, Inc. admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.