Connected Scotland: a weekend to share, learn, and grow
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Over the 2nd and 3rd of November, we were thrilled to welcome representatives from different organisations and backgrounds to the Regional Performance Centre in Dundee for a packed weekend, including lots of opportunity to network, ask questions, and spark new ideas.
We were also thrilled to make our Connected Scotland gathering free of charge for attendees this November, thanks to kind sponsorship from Freedom Boat Club Loch Lomond.
With a whole range of different workshops, carousel sessions, plenary talks, and support resources all on the go, it was fantastic to hear all that’s happening and all that’s on the agenda at a range of locations across Scotland.
It was fantastic to see representation from clubs up, down, and across the country, including members and volunteers from Chanonry Sailing Club in the North, to representatives from Newburgh SC in Fife, all the way down to Stranraer and Loch Ken in the south-west. This weekend was certainly testament to the value offered by bringing people together.
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Reflecting on the weekend, RYA Scotland Development Manager Liza Linton said:
“Hopefully this has been a valuable weekend and useful networking opportunity. We hope attendees have been able to meet a variety of people over the one or two days they attended.
“We hope everyone had the chance to hear about some similarities in relation to what they’re currently up to or working through, hear some challenges, hear some solutions, gain some ideas and perspective… or actually just find out it’s not just them, and sometimes that’s nice.”
The weekend was also a fantastic opportunity to regroup and share progress around our ongoing ‘Youth Voices’ youth engagement effort which is nearing formal launch following a successful consultation period over the summer and autumn.
By pulling together u25s from competitive racing, coaching, Scottish Student Sailing, Sea Cadets, as well as individual club committees, we had a fantastic range of voices and experiences to bounce and share ideas with.
Our younger attendees were not however constrained to our youth focussed efforts, with them providing a valuable perspective to many of the different workshops on the go.
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Reflecting on his weekend, international Hansa sailor Rory McKinna said:
“I heard some very interesting things on membership retention, engagement, and getting new members in the first place. Lots of interesting things that I’d never considered, using the likes of LinkedIn to get a certain demographic into the club.
“There was a certain phrase that was used, ‘Vets and Cadets’ which was around getting kids into racing by pairing them up with an older more experiences racer, a veteran, in a two person boat to allow them to pass on their knowledge. It was interesting to take that concept away.”
Taking to social media after the event, Stranraer Water Sports Association wrote:
“Great to be surrounded by likeminded people sharing our success, our challenges and exploring ways in which we can continue to grow and develop.
“Big thank you to the RYA team, their board members and volunteers who all contribute to the running of a great event.”
Our own thanks go out to all who attended and gave up their time, as well as those who helped deliver our various sessions over the weekend. In addition to input from the RYA Scotland team, it was fantastic to hear from a range of speakers.
An additional thanks to:
Neil Baird speaking on Scouts Scotland
Ditta Neumann / Aberdeen & Stonehaven Yacht Club on membership
Stewart Atkinson from OutdoorClassrooms.Scot
Joe Penhaul Smith from Sustainable Sailing
Danny and Paula Hawthorn from Scottish Fin & Foil
Dave Mellor, RYA Coach Development Manager
We were also delighted to welcome Malcolm Cannon, Director of Freedom Boat Club Loch Lomond to the floor at our close on Sunday. It was great to hear Malcolm reflect on his own findings from the day, and talk more about the unique Freedom Boat Club model which offers membership based, maintenance free access to boating.
We are always eager to promote sharing and learning amongst the community, and so were glad to take the opportunity to learn more about the Freedom model, and the different set ups operating within the Scottish sailing and boating space.
The Freedom Boat Club Loch Lomond team also kindly made available a generous discount and joining incentive for Connected Scotland attendees. For more on Freedom Boat Club Loch Lomond, why not check out their website?
We were also pleased to offer a discount on RYA Publications to all who attended over the weekend. Further information about how to redeem this offer will be shared via email.
For more on what RYA Connected is all about, head to the main RYA site today.
Want to get involved next year? Keep an eye on our website and socials for all the latest.