Scottish Club Chat May 2023

We welcome Finlo Cottier as the new CEO of RYA Scotland!    Finlo has hit the ground running this month, meeting the team and getting oriented within the organisation. We are very excited to have him on board and to see where he leads RYA Scotland into the future. Read more about Finlo here.

Welcome Chanonry Sailing Club as Scotland’s newest OnBoard club! As an RYA OnBoard venue, Chanonry SC will benefit from RYA central and regional support, including resources for instructors, parents and teachers, instructor training, insight from relevant research, and more potential for further funding. If your recognised training centre is interested in better using sailing and windsurfing to teach personal and social development to 8 to 18-year-olds, contact your Regional Development Officer to start the conversation.

Speaking of OnBoard: responding to requests from clubs and centres to learn more about the OnBoard programme, the RYA Development Team’s May Connect Call focused on this topic. Thanks to all who attended and engaged in the conversation. The Connect Calls are opportunities to connect with RYA Scotland staff as well as club leaders from throughout Scotland. The intention is for the conversations to be led by clubs and centres toward topics relevant to them. Register for future monthly calls here. Feel free to suggest topics for discussion to the Development Team.

The 2023 Onboard Introductory Festivals are confirmed.

• East, Monikie Country Park, 26 August
• North, Lochcarron Sailing Club, 2 September
• West, James Hamilton Heritage Park 3 September

These events aim to gather sailors for first time experiences or their first event away from their home club. The focus is on creating a fun atmosphere and bringing sailors together from across their region. More details are coming soon.

RYA Scotland Impact Awards - Who has made a positive impact on your time afloat?

Thank you for all your nominations to date and highlighting those who deserve recognition in supporting activities afloat in Scotland over 2022. We have been out and about meeting some of the nominees around the country to find out more about their impact. This has seen very personal thanks, to a much wider recognition of their impact to the sport or organisations.

We will share some of stories over the next month, while we will continue to welcome rolling nominations that you feel worthy of recognition. You can nominate at any time via the Impact Awards website page.

Would you like to grow your club’s membership? Consider signing up your club to Discover Sailing, the RYA Demand Creation Campaign which supports clubs by providing both physical and online resources, regional communicator support as well as allowing clubs to benefit from being part of the national promotions. Full details on the programme, as well as about Re-Discover Sailing may be found here.

Join our sustainable boating community and take the Green Blue Pledge! The Boating Pledge allows you to show your commitment to making your boating more environmentally sustainable by pledging to respect, protect, and enjoy our inland and marine waters. Find more information and make the pledge here. 

Environmental Sustainability questionnaire--Help us shape our future. Share your views on what is needed to help the sport and physical activity sector accelerate action on environmental sustainability. sportscotland, Sport England and Sport Wales, with the support of Useful Projects, are carrying out a sector wide consultation on environmental sustainability in sport. We really want to hear from you about your views on how the sport and physical activity sector could accelerate positive climate action. About what you’re already doing, the greatest opportunities and priorities for change, and the challenges and support needed to overcome these. You can access the survey here and the closing date is 19 May 2023.

National Lottery Awards for All Scotland is a quick way to apply for funding between £300 and £10,000 to support what matters to people and communities. Applications should do at least one of the following: bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities; improve the places and spaces that matter to communities; help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage. RYAS clubs and centres do this all the time! Find complete details here. Please ensure your RDO is aware of any application for this funding as they will likely be consulted during the review process.

The Magic Little Grants fund is now accepting applications for £500 grants. The application process is simple with a quick response time of less than 6 weeks. Funding can be used to launch new projects, support existing ones, or cover core costs associated with ongoing work. Full details are here.

Well done to the Scotland Team of junior sailors from across Scottish Clubs who travelled down to Rutland Water for the annual Eric Twinname Junior Championships at the end of April. Look out for the Festival of Youth and Junior Sailing Championships at Loch Tummel on the 17th and 18th of June with booking now open on the Event Webpage.

Please do not hesitate to make contact if you have questions or areas where we might be able to support. Send us a message at Development@RYAScotland.org.uk. 

All the best from The Development Team – Laura, Brian & Liza

09/05/2023