Robbie's Blog December 2019
Hi everyone,
November has flown by, and what a busy month it has been in the East Region. Not only did we see the successful Affiliated Club Conference and Cruising Conference, but several East Region volunteers were presented with RYA Volunteering Awards by HRH the Princess Royal at a Ceremony in London. Congratulations to them all and you can read more about their successes on the RYA East webpages. Volunteers really are crucial to all of our activities, so if you know of a volunteer worthy of receiving an Award you can nominate them for the 2020 RYA Volunteer Awards.
The RYA East Affiliated Club Conference
Saturday (23 November 2019) saw the annual Affiliated Club Conference take place at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook. Now in its 5th year, the event saw 120 delegates from over 50 clubs participate in the day, coming to learn about the latest news and updates from the RYA, and also to learn from the experiences of other clubs in the Region. The keynote speaker for the Conference was RYA CEO Sarah Treseder, who spoke on the Conference theme of volunteering, exploring the challenges and motivations faced by volunteers in today’s society, along with considering how volunteers can be encouraged within Clubs. Targeted towards club committee members, workshops during the day covered a wide range of topics from development opportunities for instructors and coaches to employment law, increasing on-the-water activity to funding - providing an opportunity for everyone to pick up new ideas and suggestions. It was great to see such a strong turnout for the RYA East Affiliated Club Conference. We have a huge number of club volunteers in the East Region, and it’s good to see these volunteers sharing good practice, ideas and suggestions during the event, with discussions started there carrying on throughout the year. The provisional date for 2020 is Saturday 28 November, so put this in your diaries now.
The RYA East Inaugural Cruising Conference
The busy weekend continued with the inaugural RYA East Cruising Conference, held the next day on Sunday 24 November at the Royal Hospital School. Attracting over 100 delegates, the day was well supported by sailors in the East Region, who enjoyed a packed day of presentations and learning opportunities for the cruising sailor.
With a variety of workshops taking place on the day, there was something for everyone, and there are plans underway for the conference to become an annual event, to return in 2020. Many thanks to Alice Davies and the RYA East Regional Committee for their hard work in organising this event.
OnBoard Update
Jen Miller, who has taken on the role of OnBoard contact in the East, met with a number of OnBoard Clubs at the Affiliated Club Conference and has plans under way to meet with the remaining Clubs over the coming months. Work on setting up OnBoard Instructor Support Days is ongoing, so please let Jen know if your Club would like to get involved (jen.miller@rya.org.uk). Congratulations also go to Daniel McGregor of Priory Sailing Club who was recently awarded exclusive use of a Topper for the next two years through the on-going partnership between the John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST) and RYA OnBoard, great news!
Club Development Forums
The East Region team are planning for a number of Club Development Forums to take place early in the New Year, with sessions in January and February. Please keep on eye on the East Region website for further news of these.
Finally, Merry Christmas to you all – I hope you have a relaxing festive period, and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Robbie