September 2022

You will have noticed that this month's edition of Club Room is a little later than normal, as we paused to reflect on the sad news of the passing of our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. We hope that you received the tribute that we shared with our members and the wider boating community. Our thoughts and condolences remain with The Princess Royal, RYA President, and the entire Royal Family.

In terms of what is coming up:

Firstly, the Participation and Development Team have been working hard to pull together a variety of learning opportunities for volunteers, committee members, staff, coaches and those involved in the management of your clubs and centres over the Autumn/Winter months.

The Programme is centred around three core workshops looking at Funding, Facilities and Community Mapping. The workshops will give clubs and organisations a chance to come together to talk around each of the three topics with a variety of presentations and break-out groups included in each of the 2-hour workshops. 

Funding

Does your club or centre need more funding? For running costs, special projects, equipment or facilities? Do you know how much you need and how you might go about obtaining it? Who might you approach? What resources are available? Do you have a financial strategy? This facilitated workshop will help you to answer these questions and guide you towards helpful resources, to ultimately create and implement a funding plan for your organisation to help you achieve your financial goals.

Dates = 16th November at Chanonry SC (North), Jan 2023 – date tbc at Oban SC (West), 1st February 2023 at Aberdeen & Stonehaven YC

Facilities

Our Facility Workshop aims to explore the areas to consider in the development of your club/centre facility. One barrier cited for club growth is poor accessibility to include the whole community so we will think about how we can meet inclusion and sustainability commitments which fit in with the community you are part of. We will look at ways in which you can consult with your membership, the community, and under-represented groups to develop your plans as well as discuss what key elements funders will be looking for in terms of your club ethos and vision for future growth and development.

Dates: 28th September at Lochaber Yacht Club (North), 11th October at Dundee Sailing Club (East), 18th January at CCC Dinghy Section, Bardowie (West)

Community Mapping

Community Mapping is an exercise that will help club and centres to identify who lives in their local community and how they can link in and work with other organisations in the area. It will help the clubs identify potential partnerships and ways to better link with the community around them. We will look at all the different types of organisations in local communities, for example schools, charities, community groups etc.

Dates: 19th October at Prestwick Sailing Club (West), 23rd November at Royal Forth Yacht Club (East), 8th February at Loch Insh Outdoor Centre (North)

For further information and to book your free place(s) on the workshop please go to our booking page here. We are also looking at potentially hosting an online version of these workshops in early 2023 (if you are interested in an online workshop then please get in touch).

Secondly, a big thank you to all those who returned their data for the 2022 RYA Club Membership Census, the numbers are now being crunched at head office but it’s looking like healthy news around membership numbers. As ever a full insights will be available at this year’s Scottish Affiliated Clubs and Recognised Organisations Conference in March 2023. 

This event will be preceded by a scene-setting national Online Club Briefing ‘RYA Live – Club Show’ at 7pm on Wednesday 5th October hosted by Scottish Olympian and broadcaster Shirley Robertson. Look out for further details on our social media channels and remember to register online!

Since August’s Scottish Club Chat, we have hosted several great opportunities to get on the water. These have been delivered by the RYA Scotland team as a whole and have been a real team effort from staff, organisations, and volunteers alike!

OnBoard Introductory Festivals – 27/28th August 2022

We were delighted to host an OnBoard Introductory Festival at James Hamilton Heritage Park, East Kilbride on 27th August and then a North event on Sunday 28th August at Lochcarron Sailing Club. 

These ‘kit-bag’ type events offered a fun environment for individuals who are new to sailing to take part in some coaching and very basic racing. It was an opportunity for them to either travel away from their place of initial learning or a way to access our sport and be signposted to where they can continue. The events were a great success with lots of children and coaches coming together for enjoyable days and you can read more about them here. We cannot wait to plan more for 2023!

Youth Keelboating Opportunity – 3/4th September 2022

An opportunity for young people to experience 707 keelboat racing took place at Port Edgar Yacht Club on the Forth. The event, supported by A-Plan Marine Insurance allowed young people to take part in some training and racing with a prize of a direct entry into the British Keelboat League Championship Finals for the successful team. Full details can be found here but thanks to Port Edgar Yacht Club and the 707 class association for their help with the event. And congratulations and good luck to Strathclyde University who will be attending the finals this weekend.

Late Summer Championships – 24/25th September

This past weekend, we held the Late Summer Champs at Loch Tummel Sailing Club. There were 94 sailors and windsurfers afloat over the two days which was a great turnout. It was a colossal effort from everyone involved - from the club, the volunteers (on and off the water), the coaches, David Kent and the team here at RYA Scotland. The feedback we have received so far has been tremendous! Well done to all the competitors involved and those who enabled them to get there – read more here.

Junior Sailing for the Autumn & Winter

The RYA Scotland Academy Programme is open for 2022/23 with opportunities taking place throughout the country. You can have a look at the programme and book your space using this link. 

You can also speak to the Performance department if you have any questions by email.

Finally, if you would like us to pop along to your club/centre/organisation or have any questions, then please drop us an email!

We hope you to catch up with you all soon!

Take care and stay safe!

The Development Team, aka Georgia, Laura, Brian, Kristy & Liza

27/09/2022