Robbie's Blog February 2020

 

Hi everyone,

As you will be reading this blog I will have attended the national RYA Training Conference and the Sailability Conference, both these events are always a great opportunity to catch up with professionals and volunteers from across the region to discuss all things training and participation. I look forward to seeing more of you at forthcoming events.

It’s an exciting time in the Region with plenty of events over the coming weeks and months – you can find out more about them below:

  • The Club Development Forums (Feb-March 2020, various venues)

The next few weeks sees the start of the 2020 Club Development Forums, which are taking place at four venues throughout the East Region, which aim to provide a platform from which you can share ideas and be inspired. We’ll be holding two sessions each evening at Norfolk Broads Yacht, Grafham Water Centre, Orwell Yacht Club and Benfleet Yacht Club on the topics of Volunteering – looking at how we can adapt and cater for the changing world of volunteers, using the RYA’s latest insights to inform this; and Member Retention – with membership churn something that remains a challenge for many clubs, this session will facilitate a discussion between clubs to help better understand the reasons for churn, how we can improve it, and what drives satisfaction. You can book here. We are planning further Development Forums for the Spring so please keep an eye on the RYA East Website for further news on these.

Wayfarer dinghies at the end of a pontoon

  • RYA East Regional Senior Dinghy Instructor Course

This will be taking place over the last weekend in March and the first weekend in April. The cost is just £250pp. Please let your experienced Dinghy Instructors know and ask them to email me ASAP for more information on Robbie.bell@rya.org.uk

  • RYA East Instructor Training Day (Sunday 08 March, Royal Hospital School)

There are lots of new workshops and sessions at this year’s event, with opportunities to network with instructors from across the region and meet representatives from both the RYA and manufacturers. As usual there will be a publications offer and a new pricing structure for attendees, to encourage as many people along as possible. I hope to see you there - you can book here.

  • RYA Dinghy Show (29 Feb/01 Mar – Alexandra Palace)

I will be attending the Dinghy Show this year, there’s a fantastic array of activity taking place over the two days including the club briefing on Saturday morning. I am looking forward to catching up with clubs from across the region so please do get in touch if you are planning on visiting. Don’t forget that there are deals in place for clubs buying multiple tickets – you can find out more about the show here.

  • RYA Club Satisfaction Webinar

You may have heard the recent Club Satisfaction Webinar that saw insights from The Leadership Factor on last year’s Satisfaction Survey. This provided a lot of food for thought and really is worth a listen regardless of whether you took part in the survey or not, as there are lots of learning points for all clubs. If you missed it you can listen to this, and all the other webinars in the Futures series here

  • Instructor Demand Survey

Recognised Training Centres and Clubs will have hopefully seen the recent Instructor Demand Survey – please keep a look out for it, and it would be good to get your feedback on whether your existing instructor numbers match the current demand.

As you can see, there’s plenty going on, and I look forward to seeing you soon – either at a Forum, Conference, the Instructor Training Day or the Dinghy Show!

Robbie