As the U.S. national sail training organization representative to Sail Training International, ASTA representatives actively participate in STI activities throughout the year. Many will attend the annual STI Conference. This year's main theme for the Sail Training Seminar is, "Youth at the Helm."

STI would like to increase the number of young sail trainers who attend the Conference and have asked for ASTA's help in achieving this. Last year, about fifty young sail trainers from around the world participated. STI's goal is to equal or exceed that number.

The Conference provides an opportunity to share experiences, take part in workshop discussions, exchange ideas and experiences and forge relationships with other young sail trainers from around the world.

Conference registration is free to anyone under the age of 26. Accommodations are also subsidized and start as low as 10 Euros per night. The ease and low cost options for many of traveling to the conference site in Szczecin are numerous (e.g., driving from neighboring countries, taking a ferry or a low cost airline) and STI has free buses to collect delegates from Szczecin and Berlin airports. STI also offers a limited number of partial grants to support young members' attendance.

ASTA seeks to help to identify and encourage young sail trainers to attend. More information about the Conference is available on the STI website at www.sailtraininginternational.org.  Those interested in receiving a grant should submit their request via e-mail to Lori Aguiar at ASTA lori@sailtraining.org.