Harvard Sailing’s Kate Danielson received the Florida Women’s Sailing Association Young Woman Sailor of the Year Award at the association’s Year End General Meeting on May 22.
The award is one of the most significant ways that the Florida Women’s Sailing Association, based on Florida’s west coast, promotes women in sailing. The organization has supported women’s participation in sailing since its founding in 1973.
Danielson began sailing at age six and has worked with Olympic mentors including Allison Jolly, who was the first American woman to win Olympic gold, and Paige Riley, whom she sailed with while Riley was training for the Tokyo Games.
During her time at Harvard, Danielson helped lead her team to a victory at the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Match Racing National Championship last fall. She also posted two top-10 finishes at the ICSA Women’s Singlehanded National Championship—placing fourth in 2024 and ninth in 2025. As a two-time All-NEISA Women’s Skipper selection, Danielson contributed to Harvard earning top-five placements at both the ICSA Women’s Team and Fleet Racing National Championships: third place for both team and fleet racing in 2025, fourth place for team racing and third place for fleet racing in 2026.
The recognition highlights Danielson’s achievements as well as ongoing efforts by organizations like FWSA to support young women sailors.
