Susie's Scoop August 2024

Hello,

I hope everyone has been enjoying watching the Olympics, I have certainly found it all very exciting. The thrill of watching it live and seeing all the athletes being supported by their friends and family in person, unlike the Tokyo games, was really special.

Our sailors came from across the country, with Vita Heathcote and Hannah Snellgrove from the South region. Just to the west of our region down in Weymouth, Emma Wilson won another bronze in windsurfing. And it was fantastic to watch Ellie Aldridge win an historic gold in the inaugural kite competition. Many young people met Ellie during the Formula Kite European Championships in Portsmouth last year, so I hope they all were able to cheer on Ellie from home. Read a roundup of the final day of action here.

Kite and Wing developments

I hope Ellie’s success helps bring attention to this new sport - the disciplines of kite and winging continues to grow nationally as well as in the South region. To help support clubs and centres with this, we are holding a new Wing Development Day on Thursday 5 September.

James Hardy, the South’s Sailing Developer for Winging will be on hand to help clubs and centres who are looking to learn more and expand into this exciting area of growth. Bookings will open soon for this FREE day. James can be contacted on: james.hardy@rya.org.uk

I would also like say thank you to everyone who completed the Wing, Surf & Foil Participation Survey. We had some fantastic feedback and your responses are helping us to understand the needs for the region and how we can best support you.

Jake Elsbury, the South’s new Sailing Developer has been busy out and about in the region, meeting with clubs. He is learning how Sailability and OnBoard are being delivered in the region and how we can support clubs. If you would like Jake to visit your club, Jake can be contacted on: Jake.Elsbury@rya.org.uk

RYA Membership Census

Thank you to the 70 plus clubs who have submitted their census information – although the deadline has now passed we are still able to receive your data. We need to reach a 96% confidence completion rate. At the time of writing, we have a 55% completion rate. This translates to over 50 clubs which still need to submit. So, it really is vital that as many clubs as possible do complete this.

Pathway plans

I am pleased to report that a new National Pathway Manager will soon be joining the RYA. The Manager will be in contact with those clubs who have already registered interest in the RYA Pathway Club initiative. If your club is interested in becoming an RYA Pathway club please do complete this form to express your interest. More info here.

The Pathway Evolution Webinar Series of webinars are designed help answer questions about the changes to the new Pathway and dig into the needs of how our programmes are evolving to better support sailors and their families. The last in the series takes place on Tuesday 10 September, its topic will be the RYA Events Strategy. Missed a webinar? The good news is, all of the previous webinars are available to watch here.

RYA Connected Conference

As announced last month, this year’s South Connected Conference will take place at Itchen Sixth Form College. I am busy working on the agenda and I am very excited that this year’s day will include even more case studies - enabling clubs to learn and hear directly from each other.

This new venue also offers a variety of fantastic spaces for us to use. There will be lots of space for everyone to be able to informally meet up and network, making new connections or developing new ones. Whilst facilitated larger groups and smaller breakout sessions will also feature again. The Conference takes place on Saturday 30 November and bookings will open in September. In the meantime, you can take a virtual tour here.

And finally…

RYA Awards

Nominations for the all-new RYA Awards close on Monday 16 September 2024. The awards recognise the outstanding contributions made by volunteers and affiliated organisations and will now be awarded across two key categories: Individual Awards and Affiliate Awards.

There are five categories within the Individual Awards: Unsung Hero, Long Service, Rising Star, Guiding Light and Inspirational Race Coach/Instructor.

There are also five categories in the Affiliate Awards: Together on Water, The Green Blue Team, Young Person’s, Active and Event of the Year

Find out more and submit your application here.

We have received nominations for the various awards but would like to receive even more so that we are able to celebrate everyone who makes a real difference.

Until next time,

Susie