OnBoard awards joy for South Staffs Sailing Club 

South Staffs SC named 2011 Staffs and Derbyshire OnBoard Club of the Year

South Staffordshire Sailing Club is celebrating after receiving a top regional Royal Yachting Association (RYA) award for its commitment to introducing young people in Staffordshire to sailing.

South Staffs SC was named OnBoard Club of the Year for Staffordshire and Derbyshire at the region’s 2011 RYA OnBoard Awards, and was presented with its award last week.

OnBoard is the RYA’s successful nationwide grassroots initiative providing low cost sailing and windsurfing opportunities for local school and youth groups. More than 600 youngsters in Staffordshire enjoyed their first taste of sailing through the county’s five OnBoard clubs last year.

South Staffs SC, which also holds the prestigious title of national overall RYA Club of the Year, is helping lead the way in engaging local youngsters in sailing from an early age, having received its official RYA OnBoard club status a year ago, to supplement its own successful and ongoing youth development programmes.

This year saw the club start working with Walton High School in Stafford, with 10 Year 7 pupils introduced to sailing for the first time. During eight sessions, all the pupils undertook and passed Stage 1 of the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, with some also well on their way to obtaining Stage 2.

Meanwhile, the increase in youth activity at the club has also energised existing young club members into becoming instructors, providing long-term sustainability benefits to South Staffs SC. Regularly six or seven volunteer helpers from amongst the club’s members assisted the Senior Instructor in running youth activities.

Tony Hotchkiss, South Staffs SC’s OnBoard co-ordinator, added: “The club has always run kids’ training before but OnBoard was new and additional. The 2012 plan for OnBoard is to stay working with just Walton High and try to take the programme to the next phase by providing more and better opportunities for both Walton High pupils, and their families, to regularly get involved in our club activities.

“There has been considerable interest from the first wave of OnBoard participants in getting involved in more regular sailing so now the school and pupils know us better, and through word of mouth amongst the children and parents, we hope that we will begin to start seeing more young members and their families join the club.”

Around 3,200 Staffordshire and Derbyshire kids in total have been introduced to the sport since OnBoard was launched in the partnership in 2007. Almost 600 of those youngsters are now sailing regularly.

Brett Cokayne, RYA OnBoard Development Officer for Staffordshire and Derbyshire, said: “Volunteers are the foundation of RYA OnBoard and if it wasn’t for their time, dedication and commitment fewer youngsters would be able to get out on the water for the first time and experience what sailing and windsurfing can offer.”

For more information on sailing and windsurfing in the West Midlands visit www.rya.org.uk/regions/westmidlands