Margate YC looking forward to latest RYA clubs conference
Among the clubs looking to attend the 2020 RYA AffiliatedClubs Conference will be Margate YC in Kent, which has benefited from previous events after being inspired to develop its activities.
A regular attendee of the RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference is Susan Anderson, Commodore of Margate YC, who says: “The conference gives you new insights to help your club togo forward. Over the years I’ve taken anyone from the club who shows an interest. There are so many workshops and you get to choose which ones you want to go to, so we all go to different ones and feed back to each other what we’ve learned.”
At previous conferences, the club has picked up ideas for developing powerboating – and now has two powerboat instructors delivering courses – and attended sessions on funding and legal issues. Susan also went to a Women on Water session: “I was inspired by that, as a woman sailing since 1972, and picked up one or two ideas from the conference. I wanted to encourage women to sail and we now have more ladies than men on the committee.”
Another conference sowed the seeds for Sailability. The main club house for Margate YC is a traditional seafront building over five floors but following a deal with a property developer it is looking forward to a new home using only the ground floor and basement. As Susan explains: “I couldn’t facilitate Sailability at the time but I do remember the session and obviously in the future with our new premises we’ll now be able to make it happen.”
This year’s Affiliated Clubs Conference is moving online for the first time and Margate YC will again be taking part to catch up with all the latest knowledge and updates.
“The conference is interesting and informative and gives you new insights you probably haven’t thought of before which you might be able to incorporate into your club,” says Susan. “It inspires you to improve and gives you fresh ideas for what you can do.”
Book your FREE ticket for the RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference!
Sailing clubs across the country are booking to make the most of this year’s online RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference as they look to the future following the challenges of 2020.
The annual conference usually takes place at multiple regional venues but due to Coronavirus restrictions it will this year be held as a virtual, national event, on Saturday 21 November.
An easy-to-use online platform will make the 2020 RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference more accessible than ever before, with a world-class line up of speakers headlined by Sir Ben Ainslie on the day itself.
Throughout the weekend there will also be an online expo area where interactive ‘stands’ will offer access to RYA legal, racing and training teams, with bookable 1-1 appointments, live text Q&As, club case studies, regional and Home Country updates, downloadable resources and on-demand video.
There will then be a whole series of webinar ‘workshops’ commencing Monday 23rd November, giving clubs a chance to find out more about topics including recruiting and managing volunteers, environmental sustainability, reducing membership churn, engaging local communities, delivering a great experience to a wider audience, and promoting clubs to potential new members.
Tickets for this year’s conference are free and club officers, committee members and volunteers are invited to book now, even if they are not yet sure about their availability, because the live content will also be recorded and available to delegates afterwards.
For all the details about this year’s RYA Affiliated Clubs Conference and to secure your FREE ticket visit: www.rya.org.uk/go/affiliateconference