December 2021

Here's this month's update from your London and South East team.

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Steve Mitchell, our regional development officer, writes:

It was fantastic to see those who made it along to the our 'Planning for a Successful Future' Affiliated Clubs Conference in November. We’ve received some very positive feedback along with ideas for the planning of next year's event.

We welcomed our new chair, Dickie Bird, who takes over from Helen Hofmann. Dickie is looking forward to connecting to clubs through the network of area representatives who create group meeting throughout the year.

All four workshops delivered at the conference will shortly be available through a live online series - we will share the booking link to clubs through the nominated club contact plus also via our social media shortly. If you attended the face to face conference this is the chance to share more widely in your club to introduce other committee members, or members who may be interested, to these crucial topics of the day.

Workshop titles and dates:

Retaining Members – January10
Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers - 17 January
Facilities Development – 24 January
Legal and Governance– 31 January

Registration for these online sessions is available HERE

Following the online workshops we will also be offering face to face forums to enable clubs to come together and discuss their plans for the Retaining Members, and Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers workshops.

COVID Guidance

As the Government is starting to reintroduce both Covid related guidance and regulations, the team at the RYA are working hard to keep our information for you on this topic up to date. We know that at times there is a delay between the Prime Minister’s announcements and us being able to update our guidance; this is normally a result of us waiting for the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to update their guidance or at times for us to have sight of the wording of the legislation which can make a significant difference between what is and is not permitted. We will continue to apply pressure to these bodies as we know how important it is for you to know what is permissible or advisable as quickly as possible. Our guidance is available here, scroll down the page to find our “FAQs on COVID-19 Guidance.”

Inclusivity

I know that more and more clubs are trying to be more inclusive so that they can attract more members. So to assist you with this we have created an inclusivity toolkit which is designed to help clubs and centres to establish where on that journey they currently are and offer guidance on how to move forward from there. The tool itself comes with a plethora of templates and additional resources to help clubs and centres to navigate their way through the tool. The toolkit is now ready to be tested by a small number of clubs and we are looking for some volunteers to take part in the “Phase 2 Pilot”. This will involve a select number of clubs trailing the tool within their clubs through the winter and then providing feedback to us on how they found the tool and provide us with a case study. If you would be interested in joining the phase two pilot and helping us to create an incredible resource, please talk to your RDO or contact the equality team on equality@rya.org.uk.

Save the date

Instructor Training Day (small boat scheme) - will be at hosted at Queen Mary SC on 5 March 2022.

LSE Cruising Conference on 8 October 2022 at Sovereign Harbour Yacht Club in Sussex. The team are beginning to build the agenda so if you have any thoughts please contact Dickie Bird,

Dinghy and Watersports Show - if you love being on the water, join us for a weekend of dinghy cruising, racing, windsurfing, wingsurfing & foiling, paddleboarding, kayaking, and more at the show in Farnborough on 26-27 February. Book your ticket

November News

Congratulations go to our regional volunteers who have received RYA Volunteer Awards from HRH The Princess Royal. They are:

National Award Rob Cage of UKLA

Lifetime Commitment Award Leo Bridger of King George V Reservoir SC

Outstanding Contribution Awards:

Alan Todd of Crawley Mariners YC
Steve White of Cody SC

Young Volunteer Awards:

Joshua Dumbrill of Croydon SC
Thomas Knight of Maidenhead SC
Tristan Beckett of Datchet Water SC

…….plus one unsung hero who declined publicity.

Aarian Rexha of Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre in London and Aiden Carter of Stour Young People's Water Passport Trust in Kent are among 14 youngsters from across the UK to be awarded new boards or boats by the John Merricks Sailing Trust.

Sovereign Harbour Yacht Club raises funds for Wetwheels Foundation

BSDRA Schools Keelboat Championships at Queen Mary SC

Newsletters

There's lots of useful information available for free to RYA members, affiliated clubs and recognised training centres in a range of RYA newsletters. Here's how to get them: Go to the RYA web site home page where, if you aren't already registered, you'll find a screen inviting you to do so. Follow the instructions to register your account which can be personal or affiliated club or recognised training centre. Once registered go to "MyRYA", scroll down to "Your details", below that see "eNews signup" and click on "update newsletter preference". You'll then see a screen like that shown below of the newsletters available. Just select the ones you want to receive then click on "Subscribe".

Share your stories

We’re always looking out for stories like those above to pop on our web site and send to your local media, or snippets, photos and short videos (100s max.) to share on our social media. All should have some RYA connection. Other clubs can enjoy your achievements and benefit from your experience. Please send them to Mike Haigh