July 2021

Tokyo Olympics

With less than two weeks to go before the opening ceremony for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, we’re all getting very excited as our two Welsh sailors jet off to take part as part of Team GB!

Chris Grube and Hannah Mills will both be competing in the 470 class and Sport Wales and the RYA are working on collecting some Good Luck messages from clubs across Wales.  We’ll be contacting you over the coming weeks to ask you to put together some messages, either by video or via photos of groups holding up messages – we’re sure Hannah and Twig' will appreciate it!

Find out more here https://britishsailingteam.rya.org.uk/olympic-classes/470teams/ 

So, another question is, what is your club doing to take advantage of the increased interest generated by the enhanced coverage of our fantastic sport?  Maybe do some fun stuff for your club members? Hold your own mini Olympic regatta? Get together to watch the medal races?

Every Olympic cycle there is a huge increase in the number of people looking at the Start Boating section of the RYA website, so maybe this is the time to run a Discover Sailing event to gain some new members? Find out more here  https://www.rya.org.uk/start-boating/discover-sailing   

RYA Club Census

The 2021 RYA Club Membership Census has been sent to club contacts and this year will be more important than ever for measuring inclusivity and progress as we emerge from the pandemic.

The annual census provides vital data to help the RYA monitor the health of our clubs, tailor programmes of support and shape bids for future funding.The key observations from the insights are also relayed directly back to clubs, who receive their own bespoke report which can then be used to inform their own decision making about how to grow and support their membership.

You can find out more information about the census by clicking this link https://www.rya.org.uk/e-news/club-room/june-2021/rya-club-membership-census

Porthmadog Sailing Club Wins Grant Award

The regulations brought in to combat the Covid pandemic meant that when sailing clubs were allowed to open, single handed dinghy sailing was the only low risk way of sailing. Porthmadog Sailing Club’s existing fleet of single handers was getting old and unsuitable for many members, resulting in potential sailors being discouraged to venture out on the water. Sport Wales, through their Be Active Wales Fund, invited applications for financial support for sporting clubs to improve facilities which enabled more people to get back into sport during the Covid pandemic.

The Club put forward a case for strengthening their fleet through this grant to buy 2 new single handed training dinghies which could also be sailed by 2 adults or up to 3 youth sailors. This would meet their objectives of providing more facilities for single handed sailing and better opportunities for novice and mature sailors alike to take part in dinghy sailing.

The grant application was successful, and the dinghies are now at Porthmadog Sailing Club where it is hoping that as Wales comes out of lockdown there will be lots of opportunities to enjoy sailing in the new boats.

Welsh Regional Junior Championship

The Welsh Regional Junior Championships will take place at Plas Heli on 25-26th September. Entry for the Championships should be open late July or early August, but in the meantime, take a look here for more information: https://www.rya.org.uk/gbni/rya-cymru-wales/racing/racing-events/british-youth-sailing-welsh-regional-championships-2021

Affiliated Clubs Conference

Following the success of the RYA’s first ever virtual Affiliated Clubs Conference in 2020, this year’s will be a hybrid of a national conferment online, followed by regional events on the ground, offering the best of both worlds!

The online part of the conference will take place on the evening of the 8th November and the regional events will take place on the dates highlighted on the link below, with the Welsh venue still be confirmed:https://www.rya.org.uk/e-news/club-room/june-2021/whats-on-this-month

RYA Learning Network

RYA have developed an online hub filled with coaching and instructor resources, which is free for all club volunteers and coaches.To sign up to this invaluable resource, please use the following details:

Link: https://rya.hivelearning.com/rya/  

Pass Key: c0achingd3vel0pment

Safety Boats

With much more activity now happening at your clubs, now would be a great time to inspect your boats, specifically your safety boats and the equipment within them.

Check for things like expiry dates on fire extinguishers and flares, anything that you could need in an emergency.

For those of you who a RYA Training Centres, the power checklist can be downloaded from the document finder under Training Checklist: power https://www.rya.org.uk/document-finder

Dinghy Trails

With the Summer holidays upon us, what better way to spend your time than partaking in a nice relaxing dinghy trail!The RYA have added seven brand new #DinghyTrails across the UK, which includes trails in Milford Haven, Cardiff Bay, and Llyn Tegid (Bala)You can download all the Dinghy Trails, and submit feedback or suggestions for future trails here:

https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/dinghy-trails

That’s it from us this month – see you in August!

The RYA Cymru Wales Development Team.