September 2022
Here we are once again with the latest instalment from Wales!
You will have noticed that this month's edition of Club Room is a little later than normal, as we paused to reflect on the sad news of the passing of our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. We hope that you received the tribute that we shared with our members and the wider boating community. Our thoughts and condolences remain with The Princess Royal, RYA President, and the entire Royal Family.
Ffin a Ffoil
If you love anything Winging, Windfoiling and Windsurfing, or are keen to find out more join us for Ffin a Ffoil in Dale! This friendly event is an ideal trip out for both individuals and families with loads of fun to be had! We’ve already held one such event at Llanfairfechan in May, which was amazing!
We’ll have food available and live entertainment, as well as loads of suppliers showing off all the latest kit, so come along for what will be another amazing weekend.
Find out more www.ffinaffoil.co.uk
Welsh Youth & Junior Championships
The closing date for the Welsh and Junior Championships is fast approaching (September 30th), so make sure that you let the relevant people know as soon as possible. It promises to be another fantastic championship, so the more competitors we have the better.
You can find out more here: Welsh Youth & Junior Championships 2022 (rya.org.uk)
We also need of some volunteers for the Championships, and they don’t need to be parents! If there are any volunteers from clubs who wants some upskilling in mark laying, committee boat or safety boat, it’s a great opportunity to learn from our coaches/staff/ experienced volunteers. If you can help, please contact Sarah McGovern, Event Director, on sarah.mcgovern@ryacymruwales.org.uk
Applications for the Welsh Squad also closes very soon on October 10th, so please get your applications in ASAP: Welsh Squad Application 2022/2023 (cognitoforms.com)
Performance Update
Firstly, well done to Will Martin from CBYC sailing with Ella Lance, who finished 8th overall in the 420 World Championships Open Feet in Hungary – well done to you both!
We also had our OnBoard Festival in Bala mid-September. The event happened during our national period of mourning, and all sailors sailed with black ribbons, and we had a minute’s silence before prize giving.
It was a beautiful sunny day with light winds, lots of new sailors and volunteers, and the event was supported by 9 clubs across the region – loads of fun was had by all!
The results can be found here:
https://www.racingrulesofsailing.org/documents/4704/event?name=north-wales-onboard-festival
In early September, the Welsh ILCA Championships were held at Dale Yacht Club. The competition was open to ILCA 4, 6, & 7s, and 22 sailors took part in what was a superb couple of days!
Busy month at Tenby Sailing Club!
The end of August proved a very busy time at Tenby Sailing Club, hosting two sets of national championships, Fireflies, and The Redwings and Enterprises.
The club were especially happy with their very own Mike and Deanna Stace being crowned the new Redwing National Champions. Mike and Deanna have had a few second places in past championships, missing out by small margins, but after a tense week of racing their consistency achieved the ultimate goal – National Champions of the Redwing class! Well done to you both!
Club Membership Census
A big thank you to all those who returned their data for the 2022 RYA Club Membership Census, the numbers are now being crunched but it’s looking like positive news with membership numbers generally up on last year.
Save the Date!
As ever the full insights will be available at this year’s Welsh Affiliated Clubs Conference and you can now sign up for your free ticket here.
This event will be preceded by a scene-setting national Online Club Briefing at 7pm on Wednesday, 5 October 2022, hosted by Olympian and broadcaster Shirley Robertson. Look out for further details on our social media channels and remember to register online!
Save the Date 2!
Our RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference is COMING SOON!! Welsh Clubs Live will be happening on the 22nd of November at 7:30pm.
The regional and home country conferences are an opportunity to connect with other clubs as well as RYA staff and volunteers. Join us to hear the headlines from the region and the latest local opportunities for your club. There will be a programme of club development sessions led by experts that will explore the following areas:
• What are the needs and motivations of your club members and how can you provide an experience that’s right for them?
• How can you make your club welcoming to a wider range of members?
• What can you do to make your volunteers experience meaningful?
• How can the RYA’s new Club Management Compliance Toolkit help you manage your club?
• How to secure the funding you need for your club
You can find more info here: https://www.rya.org.uk/events/affiliated-club-conferences
It would be great to hear your feedback so we can look at ways to retain membership.
That’s it from us this month – see you in October!
The RYA Cymru Wales Development Team.