Auburn University is home to a variety of students with different tastes and interests, so the University has a myriad of groups and clubs for students to participate in.
O-Days, or Organization Days, are held once a semester, giving groups a chance to set up on the concourse and attract new members who share their same interests.
Auburn has a few extreme clubs that offer exciting activities for students.
Auburn has its own sailing club, with the motto "we do not sail to win, we win because we have been sailing."
With approximately 20 members in the club so far this semester, the University's sailing club participates in many competitions throughout the semester.
Competition is not a requirement, however.
Members can also relax and learn how to sail for fun.
The club practices Sundays at Lake Martin year-round.
Spring is usually the start of racing season.
Competitions are suspended after Thanksgiving and begin again in February.
The club participates in competitions with teams within SAISA, the South Atlantic Interscholastic Sailing Association.
Students without experience are still encouraged to participate.
In 2012, the group had three U.S. certified sailing level-one instructors help newcomers in the club become more familiar with sailing.
Anna Sprague, senior in journalism, has been in the sailing club for four years.
"I heard about the sailing club during O-Days and it seemed like a good way to get involved," Sprague said. "I grew up on the beach, and I've been sailing my whole life. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to sail, we teach anyone who wants to be in the club."
Reeves Hollan, senior in finance and entrepreneurship, said he has been sailing for 16 years.
He has worked at sailing summer camps and on a private boat for a family in Maine.
"My favorite part of being in the club would have to be the community of it," Hollan said. "It gave me a close group of friends."
Last year, a team including Sprague, Bert Dye, senior in radio, television and film; Claire Ritchey, graduate research assistant; and Sammy Hodges, alumnus in wildlife sciences, won 4th place in the Sugar Bowl Regatta, a two-day competition among 13 schools.
Wes Wallace, originally of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was also a member of the award-winning team, but passed away in July 2013.
Sprague has been competing since high school.
"I have met so many of my friends through this club," Sprague said. "It's a great way to meet people and be involved on campus."
Henry Risberg, junior in mechanical engineering, has been active in the club since his freshman year.
"I didn't know anything about sailing when I joined. They taught me from the ground up," Risberg said. "A couple of my friends convinced me (to) join and I had a really good time, so I joined and met some really awesome people."
The sailing club is more than a club.
It is a community where anyone can learn to sail and meet great people in the process.
"My favorite way to spend a Saturday in Auburn is with my friends sailing on the lake," Risberg said.
For more information about the team, visit AuburnSailing.org or find the Auburn Sailing Club page on Facebook.
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