Navigating the future
An active community working together on or around the water, where everyone has a place
In 2023 we launched a five-year strategy, Navigating the Future. Our strategy is reflective of the values that RYA Northern Ireland represents:
- Transparent
- Approachable and supportive
- Visible
- Passionate and proud
- Embracing equality
- Brave and adventurous.
To achieve the goals set out in our five-year strategy, we have four clearly outlined strategic aims.
Maximise athlete potential
In maximising athlete potential, we hope to:
- Inspire participants of all ages about what can be achieved by NI athletes, creating local excitement and public interest about the sport
- Develop National pride, creating a sense of unity and togetherness.
For RYA Northern Ireland, Success on the World stage isn’t just about the Olympics or Paralympics, it is about being ‘world class’ in a variety of potential fields. This could be competing in a Sail GP event, an Olympic or Paralympic Games or medalling in a non-Olympic/Paralympic class of sailing.
We support athletes from the beginning of their sailing journey, to elite professional level. This is done through a performance pathway
To find out more about any aspect of our performance pathway, get in touch with our Performance Manager, Andrew Baker.
Improve diversity
Despite the strong history of sailing and water sports across the country, we can do more so those involved in the sport better reflect the population of Northern Ireland.
Currently, we are working hard to achieve gender parity in the sport through our Women On Water programme and we are encouraging people of all abilities to get involved in the sport through Sailability programmes.
To find more about these programmes, or how you can get involved in the sport for the first time, get in touch with our Active Club Coordinator, Lisa McCaffrey.
Re-imagine pathways
We need to ensure a wider variety of pathways are available which cater for different interests, needs and abilities to inspire more people to take up or continue in the sport.
Through the launch of our pilot programme, Project Theia we have taken significant steps to provide alternative pathway opportunities through the launch of a Women On Water Development Programme, Sailability support, a Team Racing Programme and the launch of a Development Academy.
To find out more about our efforts to re-imagine pathways, get in touch with our Pathways Officer, Kate Broderick.
Inspire people to give their time
At RYA Northern Ireland, we recognise that volunteers are at the heart of our sport and central to its long-term sustainability.
We consistently hear from clubs and centres about the risk of volunteer burnout due to the difficulty of attracting new volunteers and keeping current volunteers active. As an early step in supporting clubs at attracting volunteers, we have recently launched our new volunteer scheme, We’re All In.
To find out about how RYA Northern Ireland could support to your club’s volunteering efforts, get in touch with our Workforce Development Officer, Mary Martin.