RDO blog March 2022
Hi everyone,
As we move closer towards the start of the 2022 season, I’m sure that planning is in full swing for many of you and it is encouraging to hear about all the activities and initiatives planned for the year to both retain existing members and attract new ones.
The RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2022
It was great to meet up with East Region clubs at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show which took place at the end of last month, for the first time based at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre. The Show had a good buzz all weekend, with plenty to see and do.
Discover and ReDiscover Sailing Days
Looking ahead to this season, with the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions many of you will be planning to hold Open Days this year and the RYA’s Discover Sailing and ReDiscover Sailing programmes are back to help support you with these. There are no fixed dates for these, so they can be used to support your Open Days throughout the season – you can register here. There are a whole host of resources are available to help you promote, support and run your event, with the print run closing on the 7th of each month. In the past, these have been an extremely effective way of both bringing people into the sport and retaining those who have sailed in the past, so please do make the most of the opportunity.
Instructor Development Opportunities
I am currently half-way through delivering the RYA East Dinghy Senior Instructor Course, we have 11 candidates representing 8 clubs/centres from across the region. It’s a real privilege to be coaching the next generation of SI’s, I look forward to seeing them develop activity and support for instructors within their organisations during the coming months and years. I would like to receive expressions of interest for a further Dinghy SI course this summer so please get in touch if you have any potential candidates. The Keelboat Senior Instructor course is scheduled over two weekends in May and June, for further information about this and other courses please visit the website here.
Funding Support and Club Development Planning
As we plan for restarting activity, a number of clubs are identifying needs for funding and seeking our support. We are very happy to help with this, but we also want to encourage clubs to think about Development Planning as being an essential first step to these funding applications. It is something we talk about a lot, but having a development plan really assists clubs in terms of their future direction, providing continuity and demonstrating how your funding project fits into the broader scheme of club development. We have some great resources available to help, including the Guide to Developing Your Club and a Club Development Tracker. Please do check these out and get in touch if you would like further support.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up-to-date with the latest news and to let us know what your club has been up to. We’d also like to hear about your plans for the year, so please do get in touch.
Hope to see you soon,
Robbie