RYA Connected Conference - South
Book now to join the RYA Connected Conference in the South
Now's your chance to come together with your local sailing community to learn, grow and connect. This exciting event is free to attend and you can send as many members of your team along as you'd like while there are spaces available.
This year, we'll be welcoming speakers from Emsworth Sailing Club, Spinnaker Sailing Club, Cody Sailing Club, Seaview Yacht Club and Junior Offshore Group to cover a wide range of topics including creating greener sailing clubs and the charitable trust model of funding.
Here's what your day will look like
Date
29 November 2026
Time
09.15 - 16.30
Location
Oasis Academy,
Southampton,
SO19 9NA
Here's what we’ll be talking about
Your day will start with an opportunity to network, followed by an opening plenary with our guest speaker Giles Graham. Across the rest of the day, you'll have further chances to network with other clubs and will have a choice of forums, presentations and workshops to attend before the closing plenary.
Forums are a chance to share your views on a given topic and hear the insight of others. Workshops are facilitator led, with a combination of presentation, activities and discussion. Presentations are a chance to listen to an expert or another clubs story.
You will have a choice of each of the sessions to attend. To help you plan ahead with your team, this is what we’ll be focusing on this year:
Forums
- Growing opportunities for disabled sailors
- Delivering better racing
- Getting more young people sailing
- Overcoming challenges in training
- How to deliver yacht and keelboat activity
- Engaging and welcoming more women and girls into our sport
- Creating better blue spaces and reducing environmental impact
- Welfare Officers session with your local Sport Welfare officer
- Using digital tools to improve the running of your organisation
- Encourage more time on the water with dinghy cruising, sail away events and adventure sailing
Presentations
- Growing instructor and coach teams
- Safe recruitment: who is eligible for DBS checks
- Get Wing Foiling
- Accidents & Incidents
- Turning Passion into Action: Building a Greener Sailing Club
- Removing the Barrier of “Joining”
- Beyond Club Saling: Creating Adventure-led Opportunities for Members
- Harnessing the Power of Content
- A Different Route to Funding – The Charitable Trust Model
- Engaging the Missing Generation –Attracting Young Adult Sailors
- Using AI
- IQ Foils World Championships
- Supporting your Race team
Workshops
- Handling complaints and safeguarding concerns with confidence
- Growing instructor and race coach teams
- Growing racing activity and race teams
- Getting it right for women and girls
- Funding Future Growth while keeping your club accessible and affordable
- Building programmes that get more young people out on the water
- Understanding and meeting members needs
Sessions led by your local clubs and centres
- Emsworth Sailing Club - Turning Passion into Action: Building a Greener Sailing Club
Hear how Emsworth Sailing Club has engaged members to champion sustainability across the club. Discover the initiatives they have introduced to reduce environmental impact, how they built member support for change, and the practical lessons learned from creating a more environmentally conscious club culture.
- Spinnaker Sailing Club - Removing the Barrier of "Joining": Rethinking Membership for Modern Sailors
Learn how Spinnaker Sailing Club listened to potential members, identified barriers to joining and reshaped its membership offer to better reflect modern lifestyles. Discover how introducing flexible options, including rolling monthly memberships, has helped the club attract new audiences and create more accessible pathways into participation.
- Cody Sailing Club - Beyond Club Sailing: Creating Adventure-Led Opportunities for Members
Cody Sailing Club has developed a unique approach that uses dinghy cruising, sail away events and family camping to bring members together and encourage more time on the water. Discover the practical steps they have taken to make adventure sailing accessible, build member confidence and create experiences that keep people coming back. Hear lessons that can be adapted and applied within clubs of all sizes.
- Seaview Yacht Club & Hamble River Sailing club: - A Different Route to Funding: The Charitable Trust Model
Discover how Seaview Sailing Club and Hamble River Sailing Club have used a charitable structure to unlock funding, increase participation and support long-term club development. Hear about the journey to establishing the charity, the opportunities it has created and the lessons learned from securing investment for future growth.
- Engaging the Missing Generation: How Junior Offshore Group is Attracting Young Adult Sailors
Membership among young adults is a challenge facing many clubs. Hear how the Junior Offshore Group (JOG) developed a targeted approach to engage 18 to 35-year-olds through digital innovation, training opportunities, mentoring and clear progression pathways. Discover how these initiatives have helped grow membership, build confidence and create a new generation of active offshore sailors.
For more detailed information on all the above sessions, download the full agenda.
Book now
All Connected events are FREE to attend for RYA Affiliates.
Many of our affiliates find they get most benefit from RYA Connected Conferences by sending multiple members of the team along to learn as much as possible and spur each other into taking action back at your venue. Attendees may already be on your board or involved in your operations, or they may be interested in doing so in future – an RYA Connected Conference is an excellent way to get them started.
There’s no limit to the number of people you can send, but please be aware that we expect this event to be fully booked so book now to avoid disappointment!
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