A safe return to boating

Over the past few weeks, we have seen thousands of boaters return to the water safely and in line with Government guidance as a result of the efforts of clubs all around the country. Club committees have had to plan extensively in line with Government guidance whilst evaluating all of the unique considerations and factors in which their club displays.

We thank and congratulate all involved for doing this so thoroughly and successfully. We can appreciate this may have included managing opposing views within your membership and that some decisions you will have taken may have attracted challenge and opposition.

Going forward, we urge you as clubs to continue to be conservative and considerate with regards to your decision making and to err on the side of caution. We are only a few weeks away from a further Government announcement and a likely additional relaxation of restrictions so we must be patient and continue to ensure boating stays free of negative public perception and criticism where possible.

Likewise, boaters are in an extremely privileged position compared to many other sports and we should do what we can to maintain that privilege. This will require us to continue to interpret unclear Government advice using our own judgements and best efforts.

In support, we continue to run a number of engagement events and activities to aid decision makers - a summary is listed below. Please make the most of these opportunities; feedback has been excellent and they have helped to facilitate continuity across our community.

Updated club guidance

In response to the latest changes regarding social distancing guidelines in England issued by the Government we have updated the Club Guidance on restarting boating activity and managing Covid-19

Here is the latest guidance for clubs in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland

On the Return to Boating page you can also find the Guidance Restarting Training Activity and Guidance on restarting racing in England along with the RYA Return to Boating Toolkits. You also download posters and social media graphics to help share the message with your members that we need to be considerate and conservative in order to stay safe.

Online Club Development Forums

A huge thank you to all those who have taken part so far in the online Club Development Forums. We were really pleased to be joined by 1,594 of you in May which led to some really productive conversations.

As we slowly come out of lockdown and things start to ease very slightly we have decided to change from weekly to a two week rota.

Every two weeks we will run a club development forum on the same topic in all the regions across England. This will start week commencing the 22nd June when we will be running forums on How can you manage and support your club volunteers as we restart activity?

If there are any topics that you would like to see covered in these forums please email us at sport.development@rya.org.uk

In the other weeks your regional teams in England may run a question and answer forums or a subject for a targeted group such as On Board clubs or commercial centres. In the home countries all clubs and Sailability groups are encouraged to join the integrated forums that your RYA teams are organising.

Find more information and what's on in your region here

RYA Scotland is hosting a number of opportunities for clubs, training centres and affiliated organisations to connect, discuss issues and solutions, and to ask questions around key areas & guidance that the boating community are looking at during this difficult time.

The Connect Sessions are held every Wednesday at 4pm and 7pm and you can book onto those sessions via the Facebook Events or the online sessions calendar. There are also separate Recognised Training Centre sessions, which are scheme specific, and these can also be found on the calendar.

RYA Cymru Wales is hosting a variety of online opportunities for clubs, training centres and affiliated organisations to stay update to with current developments from Welsh Government and to starting planning for the future. These sessions offer the opportunity to discuss issues, share learning and to ask questions around the guidance at this difficult time.

Sessions are held most weeks and there is a listing of what is coming up next on Return to Boating in Wales webpage. You can book your place on a specific session via this page or via Facebook events.

RYA Northern Ireland are running club forums regularly, please find detailson the nextthree here. The workshops cover aspects of guidance from RYA, Sport NI andNI Executive, as well as discussion and sharing of ideas between clubs.

Sailability Development Forums

As we slowly get back afloat, RYA Sailability groups face some specific challenges which will be explored in the English regions through a variety of Development Forums in the coming weeks. These forums will bring Sailability clubs and centres together to share ideas, inspire each other and identify the further advice and guidance they need.

You can find more information on what's being run in your region and how to book on here

#SailFromHome

With lockdown slowly easing and people getting back out on the water there are also changes to our #SailFromHome content. SailSmarts for junior sailors will now be moving to a Sunday at 11am and Knot on the Water is on Fridays at 11am.

On Thursdays at 4pm we will continue to release Club Development videos. These are packed full of advice from Regional Development Officers and will feed into the online Forums. If you have missed any of these previously then you can find all the content on the Club Zone Playlist.

Last episode was Providing Safety Boat Cover for Club Activities with author Clive Grant.

Coming soon There will also be a series of Sailability #SailFromHome videos. The first one is Getting to Know Participants and will be released on 18 June at 11:00 on the RYA social media channels.