Look out for the 2026 RYA Club Membership Census

This summer the RYA Club Membership Census will again be collecting grassroots data in 2026 to help our network of Affiliated Clubs to grow and thrive.

Previous respondents to the Census have already been alerted to look out for the 2026 edition and will be receiving a link at the beginning of June to complete it online by mid-August.

The Census provides a crucial barometer for the health of our clubs and the foundations of our sport, enabling the RYA and its Affiliates to identify membership trends and challenges, and opportunities for support, development and funding.

Victoria Lenz, RYA Insights Manager, said: “We need a response rate of at least 85% for meaningful comparison with previous years and in recent times it’s been over 90%, which is amazing. We now have more than a decade of data that is used in many ways, whether that’s nationally, by Home Nation or Region, or by individual clubs.  

“Thank you so much to all those who have consistently year-on-year committed to giving their club data. We’re looking forward to collating this year’s Census with all of these clubs again, and also with those who may not have taken part in previous years. For those who may not have completed it before, the message is please don’t be daunted by the questions if you are not able to answer all of them, just provide what you can, even if that is only your overall membership number. Every club is unique and the Census provides such a wealth of knowledge, we’d love all of our Affiliates to take part and reap the benefits.” 

Vital statistics

• Who takes part? Our network of nearly 950 Affiliated clubs including sailing, motorboating, virtual, and charities with members such as Sailability groups, with a minimum target response rate of 85%.
  
  
• When is the Census? The 2026 Census will be live from the beginning of June and clubs are urged to respond as close as possible to the date they did it last year for maximum comparability of results and trends, and by no later than mid-August.
  
  
• What are the questions? These ask for total numbers about: membership; joiners and leavers; sex; age; ethnicity; disability; and Affiliated groups such as Sea Cadets, Scouts/Guides, schools, universities, canoe/SUP and model yachting, as these leverage thousands of additional individuals who clubs support to get on the water. Clubs do not have to provide data for every question, as every club is unique and not all record detailed splits in their membership information.
  
  
• Why take part? The data provides an essential overview nationally and by RYA Home Nation and Region, and for individual clubs. The data can also be processed for sub-regions, Local Authority or Active Partnership areas – providing a useful tool for development planning, training programmes and grant applications.

A comments box invites clubs to say whether they are happy with their membership levels, or would like to develop their membership, to help the RYA identify where support may be needed. 

Club benefits  

Participating clubs receive their own bespoke Census report to help them understand their membership and how it compares with their local area and the UK. And for committee members, it enables informed decision-making when developing initiatives and grant applications. 

RYA Midlands chair Ross Ryan uses data from the Census to better understand the needs of clubs in the region, and also in his role as treasurer at his home club Notts County SC. 

Ross said: “We’ve used the Census insights from last year at four RYA Midlands in-person forums at clubs around the region to get people talking about membership retention and the inter-related topic of strategic planning. Everyone has a view on their own club membership but with a background in engineering, I like data rather than opinions.  

“As a former commodore and now treasurer of Notts County SC, we regularly look at our membership and the Census is valuable for analysing trends, including our age demographic. Some of that we could do ourselves but it’s a good discipline to do the Census and it encourages people to crunch the data. The RYA also consolidates the information into graphs so anyone can read it and understand what’s happening at club level. 

“If you’re keen on junior development for example, you can look at the numbers, plus there’s an added bit of benchmarking with the Midlands and the UK. So, if you had 3% growth and 5% leavers, you can see how you’re doing against the regional and national picture, which is helpful for an executive committee running a club where your main income is membership. 

“Two areas of focus for our club are recruitment and the effectiveness of our open days, and to look at more clearly our retention rates and why people leave. For example, could it be because of membership fees or too many duties? It prompts us to ask people and get behind the numbers to understand the reasons. Quite often it’s life events like moving away, or because people are ageing, and so we then talk about Sailability and social activities and how to keep members involved in the community of the club.  

“We get a very high response rate to the Census in the Midlands and we’re extremely pro-active in encouraging clubs to not only complete it – but to also then look at their individual reports and ask themselves the question, what did you learn from it?” 

Contact us 

Look out for the RYA Club Membership Census in your inbox and if you have any questions, or your key contacts have changed for any reason, please do get in touch.