Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Name

Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Legal name

Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Association

Website

https://cicsailing.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CICSA is the non-profit governing body for intercollegiate sailing in Canada, founded in 1937, coordinating competitions across four regions with 15 university teams and over 1,000 sailors, and fielding a 10-student National Team for FISU championships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Amateur Sailing Sports Governance

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations (MPAKACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sailing & Water Sports Teams/Clubs (Sailing, Rowing, Surfing) (MPAKABAH), Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

Keywords

• Intercollegiate sailing
• University sailing league
• Amateur sailing governance
• Collegiate regatta organization
• National sailing team selection

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: CICSA receives donations from sponsors, alumni, and family members to support their mission of increasing accessibility of sailing to young adults and university students. They also seek team sponsors and have a sponsorship package available for download.
2. Wind Athletes Canada Partnership: CICSA partners with Wind Athletes Canada to process donations, which enables tax receipts to be issued to donors supporting the national team.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CICSA is the official governing body for intercollegiate sailing in Canada, organizing a regional league structure (4 regions, 15 active university teams, 1,000+ league sailors) and an annual regatta season that includes Fleet Racing, Match Racing, Team Race, and Keelboat Nationals. It selects and trains a 10-student National Team to represent Canada at FISU World University Sailing Championships, and operates affiliated programs such as the Impact Challenge, Hall of Fame, awards program, J/24 qualification pathway, results platform, and photo archive.

Product overview

The Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Association (CICSA) is the governing body for intercollegiate sailing in Canada, operating as a non-profit organization rather than a traditional software product company. CICSA's core offerings include the League Teams Program (15 active university teams across 4 regions), the National Team (10 students representing Canada at international university sailing championships like FISU), and the management of Season Schedules and Regatta events. Supporting programs include the Impact Challenge (environmental stewardship initiative), the CICSA Awards Program (recognition of sailing achievements), the J/24 Class Association Qualification Program (pathway to World Championships), and the Sailing Pictures Archive. The organization connects school sailing teams, facilitates competitions, develops talent for international representation, and promotes accessibility to the sport of sailing for young adults and university students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• League Teams Program Organized intercollegiate sailing competition structured into 4 regions (Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada) with 15 active university teams and over 1,000 league sailors, including member schools such as University of Victoria, UBC, University of Toronto, Queen's, McGill, and Dalhousie.
• National Team Program A 10-student national team drawn from across the league's member schools who train together and represent Canada at World University Sailing Championships such as FISU, with selection via annual tryouts.
• Season Schedule and Regatta Management Annual calendar of sanctioned regattas across the league including CAN/AM's, MUSC, Team Race Nationals, Fleet Racing Nationals, Keelboat Nationals, and Match Racing Nationals, with facilitation of invitational regatta hosting applications.
• Season Results and Scoring System Live scoring and dynamic results tracking for the regatta season, with current season scores and historical results from past seasons stored and viewable via Google Sheets.
• Impact Challenge A community stewardship initiative in which CICSA member teams compete to see who can do the most good in their local communities, with a focus on environmental sustainability of oceans and lakes and on providing youth engagement opportunities in sailing.
• CICSA Awards Program Annual awards program recognizing achievements in intercollegiate sailing with categories including Club of the Year, Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Female and Male Skipper of the Year, Female and Male Crew of the Year, Female and Male Rookie of the Year, Event of the Year, and Team of the Year, alongside a Hall of Fame.
• J/24 Qualification Program Program run in partnership with the J/24 Class Association of Canada that helps CICSA member sailors compete in multiple J/24 events leading up to the 2027 J/24 World Championships in Rochester, New York, with teams eligible for the Canadian Youth Team berth at the 2027 Worlds and entry fees paid by the J/24 Class Association of Canada.
• Sailing Pictures Archive Historical photo archive of CICSA regattas and seasons, including Fleet Race Nationals, Western Canada Cup, Quebec Championship, Women's Fleet Race Events, Keelboat Nationals, and seasonal photo collections back to 2021/22, shared via Google Drive folders and external platforms such as Flickr.

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• J/24 Class Association of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCICSA has partnered with the J/24 Class Association of Canada to help organize teams of collegiate sailors to compete in multiple J/24 events leading up to the 2027 J/24 World Championships in Rochester, New York. Teams attending events are eligible to compete for the Canadian Youth Team berth at the 2027 Worlds, with entry fees paid for by the J/24 Class Association.
• Kingston Yacht ClubminorOthersVenue partner for CICSA events including the CAN/AM's regatta hosted by Queen's Sailing.
• Waegwoltic ClubminorOthersVenue partner for MUSC regional event hosted by Dalhousie Sailing.
• Pointe-Claire Yacht ClubminorOthersVenue partner for Women's Event hosted by McGill Sailing. Also received Club of the Year award in 2024.
• National Yacht ClubminorOthersVenue partner for UofT Invite event.
• West Vancouver Yacht ClubminorOthersVenue partner for 2023 Match Racing Nationals hosted by UBC.
• Royal St-Laurence Yacht ClubminorOthersVenue partner for 2022 Fleet Racing Nationals hosted by McGill University.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA): The US governing body for collegiate sailing, ICSA is the most direct structural peer to CICSA. Both organizations serve as the umbrella federation sanctioning championships, selecting national teams, and coordinating regional conferences of university sailing programs across North America.
• Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association (MCSA): ICSA's central district governing inland university sailing programs. Comparable to CICSA in operating a conference within a broader federation structure and running seasonal championships. Shares challenges related to sailing accessibility in non-coastal regions.
• South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association (SAISA): ICSA's southeastern US district, operating conference championships and qualifier events. Analogous structure to CICSA's regional organization, particularly Atlantic Canada equivalent, with shared seasonality and regatta-based competition format.
• Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC): Another ICSA district, PCCSC governs West Coast collegiate sailing including conferences against schools such as those in CICSA's Western Canada region (University of Victoria, UBC). Highly comparable governance model, regatta scheduling, and conference-based qualification structure.
• New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA): One of ICSA's regional conferences, NEISA organizes intercollegiate sailing competition among northeastern US universities. Closely comparable to CICSA's regional structure (Ontario, Quebec, Western Canada, Atlantic Canada), operating with similar conference format, regional ranking, and national qualification pathways.

Others

• World Sailing: The international federation recognized by the IOC that governs the sport of sailing globally. World Sailing is not a direct competitor but is the ultimate technical and rules authority for sailing competition that CICSA-sanctioned events ultimately align with.

Broad incumbents

• FISU (International University Sports Federation): FISU is the global governing body for university sport and the sanctioning authority for World University Championships including the sailing event CICSA's national team attends. CICSA operates as a national member federation within FISU's structure, making FISU the parent umbrella in CICSA's international pathway.
• Sail Canada: The national governing body for sailing in Canada, Sail Canada oversees all disciplines of sailing in Canada. CICSA operates the collegiate sub-segment under Sail Canada's broader mandate and would coordinate with Sail Canada on athlete development and international representation.
• U Sports: The national governing body for university sport in Canada, U Sports oversees varsity athletics across Canadian universities. CICSA operates as a parallel structure for sailing (which is not a U Sports-sanctioned sport), but serves the same constituent universities that U Sports represents.
• Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA): CCAA governs collegiate athletics at Canadian colleges (non-university institutions). Operates as a peer conference-style governing body serving a similar higher-education athletics ecosystem as CICSA, with analogous championship and member services structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/cicsailing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uottawasailingteam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Association