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Home / Cadet Life / Family Weekend

Family Weekend

Family Weekend (formerly Parents’ Weekend) is a tradition taking place each fall. Cadets welcome family to the campus for the weekend, starting Thursday evening.

This year’s Family Weekend will be from 26-29 September in various locations around campus. Thursday’s events include a watch party for the “Hell’s Kitchen” Season 23 Premier filmed at the Coast Guard Academy early this year. Weekend highlights include musical performances, athletic events, socials, and a regimental review. Some events require advance registration.

Full schedule of events

Thursday, September 26

Thursday Night Pasta Dinner hosted by the CAPT Paul Foye (Connecticut) Chapter 

Seatings at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.  |  CDR Merle J. Smith Consolidated Club
Enjoy a meal with your cadet, their friends and family. Menu: Buffet dinner consisting of pasta and gluten-free pasta with marinara sauce, meatball and Italian sausage toppings, salad, veggie, garlic bread, dessert, hot & cold drinks.

The Lee Rail Bar at the CDR Merle J. Smith Consolidated Club will be open starting at 5 p.m. on a cash bar basis. Please feel free to have drinks and mingle with other families before or after dinner.

Registration for Thursday’s Pasta Dinner is now closed.

Friday, September 27

Class of 2025 Cadet & Family Luncheon & Graduation Brief

11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  |  Roland Hall 3rd Deck

Guests of the Class of 2025 are invited to eat lunch with their cadets. Box lunches will be provided. At 12:15pm, the Class Council will provide early planning information for graduation week.

Registration is now closed.

Class of 2026, 2027 & 2028 Cadet & Family Luncheon

11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  |  Chase Hall Wardroom
Guests of the Classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028 are invited to eat lunch with their cadets.

Registration is now closed. Visitors who were unable to pre-register may ‘walk-in’ to the Wardroom during lunch hours and pay in-person.

Saturday, September 28

Cadet and Family Luncheon

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  |  Chase Hall Wardroom
Guests are invited to eat lunch with their cadets. To alleviate congestion in the Wardroom, the Classes of 2025 and 2026 are asked to eat between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. The Classes of 2027 and 2028 are asked to eat between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Registration is now closed. Visitors who were unable to pre-register may ‘walk-in’ to the Wardroom during lunch hours and pay in-person.

Overnight liberty will be granted to all cadets not in a duty section or  on conduct deficiency.  Liberty will commence upon completion of the last military obligation on Friday  and will expire at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. On Saturday, overnight liberty will be granted at the conclusion of the game to those required to attend the football game. For all others, overnight liberty will be granted following the Regimental Review. Liberty will expire on Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Cadets on conduct deficiency/restricted cadets who desire overnight liberty shall route a request to their Company Officer or Chief for approval; all such requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Football Ticket Information: General admission tickets for Saturday’s game vs Springfield College must be purchased online through Hometown Ticketing. Cadets are FREE and don’t need a ticket. Admission is $15 and kids 5 and under are free.

Season ticket holders do not need to buy tickets and will be seated in their same seats.

Tailgating Game Pass: Those wishing to tailgate are required to do so within the designated the Tailgate Zone (open 10:00 a.m. until two hours after the end of the football game) will need a pass to reserve their space. Tailgate parking passes are now sold out. There will be no walk up sales. 

Contact Ms. Andrea Stewart at athleticstickets@uscga.edu with any questions.

Visit www.coastguardathletics.com for more information.

Visitors will not be allowed to drive onto campus on Friday and Saturday, September 27th-28th, prior to 4:00 p.m. Visitors will be required to park off-site at the Mohegan Tribe “Turtle” parking lot in Uncasville, CT (just off exit 6 on CT Hwy 2A), located at approximately 41.485°N, 72.081°W. Wheelchair-accessible shuttle services will provide transportation between off-site parking and Leamy Hall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Visitors are reminded to arrive early enough to account for the travel time (approximately 20 minutes) on the shuttle.

On Sunday, September 29th, the Academy campus will be open to all parents and guests.

All persons 18 and older are required to have an ID to enter the Coast Guard Academy. Any state or federally issued ID will be accepted as valid ID for entry onto the academy grounds.

The terrain of the Academy can be physically demanding and contains numerous hills throughout the campus.  Golf carts will operate on a continual loop of the campus and be available to provide transportation for those needing assistance from 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Friday and from 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Visitors are encouraged to dress comfortably and wear walking shoes for events throughout the weekend.  Average New London temperatures in late September are highs in the 70s and lows in the mid-50s.

Parking Maps

PARKING MAP | FRIDAY
PARKING MAP | SATURDAY
offsite PARKING MAP
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Contact Information

Parents Weekend
LCDR Thomas Olsen
Project Officer
(860) 701-6874
Thomas.E.Olsen@uscga.edu
Apply Now

Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

  1. If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  2. If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  3. If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  4. If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  5. All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.

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