CEO & Chair Update

What a fantastic summer of sailing activity, helped by some much better weather than 2024. This has delivered fantastic participation opportunities, alongside some great results on the water. A huge thank you from RYA NI staff and board to the clubs, volunteers, coaches and instructors that have worked tirelessly to make this happen.

Highlights from the Last Six Months

Boosting Participation

We were delighted to receive 25 applications for the Active Club Grants scheme — the highest number in recent years. It’s fantastic to see so many clubs thinking creatively about how to get more people sailing and how to keep existing members engaged. Through this scheme, we were able to distribute £6,000 of funding to support participation initiatives across clubs, helping to grow and strengthen our sailing community.

This year’s RYA NI Youth Championships, proudly sponsored by John Minnis Estate Agents, saw the highest number of entries since 2019 — with 156 young people and 134 boats taking to the water. It was also a record-breaking year for the Regatta Fleet, with 47 young sailors enjoying their very first racing experience as part of a bigger fleet. Congratulations to all who took part, and a special well done to our winners. You can see a full list here: John Minnis Youth Championships 2025 – Northern Ireland Sailing Team.

Building stronger school links was a key focus over the summer, and we were delighted to team up with several clubs to introduce more than 150 young people to sailing. You can read more about this initiative here: RYA Northern Ireland supports schools in providing sailing opportunities | News.

Building Stronger School Links

Building stronger school links was a key focus over the summer, and we were delighted to team up with several clubs to introduce more than 150 young people to sailing. You can read more about this initiative here: RYA Northern Ireland supports schools in providing sailing opportunities.

NI Sailing Team Success

It’s been an incredible season for the NI Sailing Team, with some outstanding performances on the world stage.

• Erin McIlwaine and Ellen Barbour brought home bronze at the U23 49er FX World Championships.

• Emily and Annabel claimed a brilliant silver at the FEVA World Championships.

• In the Toppers, Adam Green secured an impressive 5th place finish.

Huge congratulations to all our sailors, fantastic ambassadors for Northern Ireland sailing!

Women on Water Festival

The WOW Festival, sponsored by RBCA and hosted at Ballyholme Yacht Club, was once again a sell-out success. Across the day, 40 women took to the water and enjoyed a fantastic mix of sailing, powerboating, windsurfing and paddleboarding. You can read more about the event here: RYA Northern Ireland host Women on Water Festival 2025 at Ballyholme Yacht Club.

Celebrating Our Community

In April, we were proud to host the RYA Northern Ireland Annual Awards, a special evening dedicated to recognising the incredible volunteers, coaches, instructors and officials who give so much to our sport.

These awards celebrate the people who make sailing and boating in NI possible through their time, passion and commitment. You can see the full list of winners here: RYA Northern Ireland Annual Awards 2024/25: Celebrating the sailing and boating community.

Progress and Partnerships

We are on track to achieve 100% of the 26 SNI measures set for the 2025–26 financial year, a strong reflection of the team’s focus and dedication.

The Clean Water Sports Alliance NI (CWSA NI) was launched, bringing together seven water sports governing bodies to work collectively on lobbying for cleaner water. You can read more here: Clean Water Sports Alliance NI – Northern Ireland Sports Forum.

Sailability Opens

Three Sailability Open events were hosted by Belfast Lough Sailability (BLS), Foyle Sailability and Lough Erne Yacht Club, with race coaching supported at BLS in advance of the events, introduced to the calendar in 2024.

Board Updates and Decisions

Making our money work harder

The Board has agreed to move reserve funds into Flagstone, where they’ll generate a much higher return than in our current account. This step ensures we’re making the most of our resources to invest back into sailing.

Strengthening how we work

Following discussions at the Governance and Risk Committee, a review of our committee structure is underway. This will help make sure our committees are set up in the best way to support sailing across NI and to deliver on our Navigating the Future strategy.

Backing Olympic dreams

We’re proud to support senior NI Sailing Team members on their Olympic journeys. Congratulations to Tom Coulter, Erin McIlwaine, Ellen Barbour and Charlotte Eadie, who will benefit from this investment in their campaigns.

Growing double-handed sailing

The Board has also approved the purchase of a brand new 29er boat — a key step in expanding the double-handed sailing programme as part of Navigating the Future.

Building for the future

Updates to our Financial Procedures and Reserves Policy have been signed off by the Finance Committee and Board, keeping us financially robust and ready for the opportunities ahead.

Board Director roles

We’re excited to share that we’re recruiting for three new Board Directors! You can find out more about the roles here. We’d also like to say a big thank you to Owen Waters, who stepped down from the Board over the summer, for all his hard work and dedication over the past two and a half years.

Save the Date

The date for this year’s AGM will be Thursday 20th November at New Forge Sports Complex, Belfast. More information will be shared soon.

Navigating The Future Strategy

Refining our direction

Following Board and staff review sessions, we’ve taken a fresh look at our strategy to make sure it still has real purpose and clarity around what we want to achieve. Some refinements have been made and will be shared at the AGM in November 2025.

Smarter reporting

We’ve introduced a new reporting tool that makes it easier to track progress against our annual operational plan. This will also give the Board clearer, more informative updates on how we’re moving forward.

Clearer goals, same ambition

Our overarching strategic aims and foundations remain unchanged, but we’ve sharpened the goals that sit beneath them and set out the work needed to drive real progress.

As you can see, there’s so much to celebrate from the previous six months and even more to look forward to. Together, with the passion of our clubs, volunteers and sailors, we’ll keep driving sailing in Northern Ireland forward.