Membership

Ever spent a day sitting at the Union Terrace, looking out over the water, watching the sails across the lake? Chances are you are watching other Union members or students who have discovered what a great time the Hoofer Sailing Club offers! Come join in on the fun instead of watching it from afar, the HSC is open to anyone with a current Union membership, including UW-Madison students, faculty and staff!

The Hoofer Sailing Club is an association of individuals working together to maintain a fleet of boats and infrastructure for recreational and competitive sailing, and to offer top-notch instruction for anyone interested. By doing as much of the work as possible ourselves, we can keep our membership dues low. Compare our dues to other yacht clubs, where you may have to pay up to $1,000 per month in dues just to maintain your membership. Then, you'll pay hundreds of dollars more for lessons, and to actually get sailing, you may need to own a boat.

Not only does our structure keep our costs low, it has tremendous social potential. When you teach others to sail, or get involved in our periodic work parties, you meet new people and create friendships; friendships made all the stronger by common interests and a shared sense of pride in a job well done. You also get a chance to learn a great deal about boat operations and maintenance - a great thing if you dream of owning a boat someday.

* Full/part-time students at the University of Wisconsin are eligible for one trial Fall semester for $75 which can be lowered to $35 after work hour deposits. The membership is valid for the fall semester it is purchased, after which an annual membership can be purchased with a $75 discount. Annual memberships purchased through a trial is scheduled to start the day the trial is purchased.

The prices listed in the table above include work hour deposits, which can be refunded to members who volunteer for the club. Work hours can be refunded in portions of $40 at a time for every 4 hours of work completed.

• $200 Work Hour Deposit (20 hours) - Union Annual
• $120 Work Hour Deposit (12 hours) - Student Annual | Union Summer
• $80 Work Hour Deposit (8 hours) - Student Summer | Student and Community Fall | Student and community Academic
  
• $40 Work Hour Deposit (4 hours) - Union & Student Winter & Trial-semester

* Four year memberships are not eligible for work hour deposits.

When you join the club, your membership fee includes a work hour deposit which helps cover the costs necessary to maintain the club. Every member has the opportunity to earn back their work hour deposit by volunteering for the club. Please note, monthly memberships do not include a work hour deposit.

After earning your first 4 work hours, you can reclaim the first portion of your work deposit ($40). After an additional 4 hours, you can earn back the second portion of your work deposit ($40). This totals to a possible $80 everyone can earn back by simply giving your time to the club. Our Union Annual members can earn back the final portion of their deposit, for a total of $200, after earning a total of 20 work hours.

**It is important to note that you must redeem your work deposit before the membership term in which you did the work hours expires.**

If you should choose not to redeem your deposit, the funds will be donated directly to the Hoofer Sailing Club.

To check how many work hours you have earned, simply log onto your account on the lessons site.

Once you have earned either 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20 work hours, depending on your membership type, simply go to the Outdoor Programs Office in the Memorial Union and ask one of the friendly staff people for a refund request form. Your refund will be issued as a check to your address and will take 4-6 weeks to be processed. We are unable to directly reimburse the refund to your debit or credit card.

Any currently-enrolled UW-Madison student, Wisconsin Union member, faculty/staff member or guest student may join the Hoofer Sailing Club. If you are a guest student, simply purchase a Union membership and then sign up for a student membership (with student ID).

You may join the Hoofer Sailing Club at any time. Sign up online, attend one of the club kickoff meetings, or go to the Outdoor Programs Office in the Memorial Union during normal business hours (608-262-1630).

Hoofers is committed to getting people of all abilities on the water. Check out our accessibility and grants pages for more information

I don’t know how to sail, can I still join? --- Yes, of course. The majority of our members learned to sail with us. We offer lessons for every skill level.

I am not affiliated with the University of Wisconsin (e.g. I just moved here), can I still join? --- Yes, the first step is to become a member of the Wisconsin Union.

I'm a student, but not at the University of Wisconsin. Do I still qualify for student pricing? --- You sure do. Just bring your student ID with you to the Outdoor UW office when you sign up