The Yacht Racing Union of the Great Lakes (YRUGL) has a long and storied past. Founded in 1896, the original Union of three lake associations, Ontario (LYRA), Erie (I-LYA), Michigan (LMYA), was formed to promote sailing competition amongst its members on the Great Lakes. Over time additional lake associations were added, in order 1967 Detroit (DRYA), 1970 (LSYA), and in 1976, Huron (LHYA). Starting in 1913, prestigious trophies were deeded to help stimulate this competition. The most prominent was the Richardson but others were also to become memorable for their elegance and deed of purpose. Today, the Yacht Racing Union of the Great Lakes is truly an international sailing organization of world class sailors hailing from the geographic region of the Great Lakes.  YRUGL continues to be the current guardian of two prestigious sail boat racing trophies, The Richardson Trophy and the Barthel Trophy. These trophies are awarded to sailors of the highest abilities in the disciplines of Match Racing and Off-Shore Racing, the two most challenging types of sail boat racing.

The mission of The Yacht Racing Union of the Great Lakes is to provide the ultimate challenges for sailing in the Great Lakes region and grow sailboat racing in Great Lakes region as a whole. Although seasoned, and many times ranked competitors are the norm, an emphasis on encouraging youth and the uninitiated is always a goal and specifically as it relates to match racing.