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Robbie's Blog January 2020

 

Hi everyone,

I hope that you had a fantastic festive season and New Year. 2020 is certainly shaping up to being an exciting year, with lots to look forward to both on and off the water, including the launch of the “Discover Sailing” campaign, the Tokyo Olympics and the America’s Cup series returning to British waters later in the Summer. 

Following on from the Affiliated Club Conference and the Cruising Conference late last year, the next few weeks also see plenty of engagement opportunities to catch up with me and members of the team – including:

  • Training Conference – 01/02 Feb 2020, Wyboston Lakes. For those that are going there promises to be a lot of useful sessions and it will be a good opportunity to network with Coaches, Trainers, Principals and this year, for the first time Senior Instructors.
  • Sailability Conference – 15 Feb 2020, Wyboston Lakes. This is a fantastic event with representatives from Sailability groups from throughout the country, you can find out more information here.
  • Instructor Training Day – Sunday 08 March, Royal Hospital School, Holbrook. More information below.

Introducing our new campaign “Discover Sailing”

Hopefully you will have heard by now about the launch of our new campaign “Discover Sailing” –to replace both Push the Boat Out and Try Sailing. Sign up will soon be live, but in the meantime a few key pieces of information:

  • Campaign timings. We will be running Discover Sailing 2020 from the 10 April until the 30 September.
  • National Promotional Campaign. The RYA will promote opportunities to try sailing in May and for 2020 during the Olympics (24 July – 09 August). 
  • Sign up process. We are currently in the process of creating a new registration process which will give clubs and centres a choice of what resources they wish to order, as well as the ability to order additional resources they may wish to purchase. Clubs and centres will be able to sign up for resources at two order points (Before the 07 February for events until the 30 June & before the 27 April for events until the 30 September)
  • Discover Sailing Map. The map will be updated as each club signs up to Discover Sailing and clubs and centres will be able to amend their event details themselves. 

We look forward to hearing about your “Discover Sailing” Events later in the year.

Winter forums

We will be running a number of Winter Forums over the coming months, with topics including growing junior membership, reducing membership churn and race management. The sessions are free and more information and booking details will be available soon. Keep an eye out on regional social media and the RYA East website for further details.

Variety of dinghies and keelboats sailing in Winter

Instructor Training Day

The 2020 Instructor Training Day will be taking place on Sunday 08 March at the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook. With development opportunities available for all dinghy, power and windsurf instructors, and a chance to hear the latest RYA Updates, attend workshops and get on the water, it’s a day not to be missed. More information and booking available soon.

RYA Dinghy Show

The RYA Dinghy Show will be on the 29 February and 01 March, and is a great way to kick off the new season. With plenty of talks on a wide range of subjects, and lots of dinghies and equipment on show and for sale, there’s something for everyone. If you are coming with your club, there is the chance to win 10 adult day tickets to the show. You can find out more about the Dinghy Show here.

Regional fleets

Don’t forget that the RYA East Region fleets can be hired by Clubs to help you increase participation. Rates are very reasonable and Toppers, Optimists, Teras and2000s are available. You can also borrow our Event Kit (including a Gazebo and display boat) for free. To find out more visit the RYA East website. 

Volunteering webinar

The latest webinar in the Futures series was on the topic of volunteering, which often arises in discussions as a challenge for clubs. RYA insight suggests that 52% of RYA Affiliated clubs report lack of volunteers as being a primary challenge to their growth and many clubs are reporting a small number of volunteers are doing the bulk of the work. If you missed the webinar you can listen to it now, hear about the research findings and discover ideas as to how we can help increase the number of volunteers within our clubs. Find out more and listen now.

Hope to see you soon!

Robbie