Robbie's Blog for September

Hi everyone,

Club visits in the Region

It’s been an excellent month for getting out into the region and visiting a number of clubs, and it was particularly good to visit Thorpe Bay Yacht Club whilst they were hosting the Tera Nationals, the club and Tera class did a great job for the young sailors and put on a real spectacle for those on the prom watching over 120 boats sailing along the shoreline, well done to all involved. Of course, many of your organisations have been hosting all manner of events over the last few weeks, whether training weeks, junior racing, open meetings, or regattas - and it has been excellent to see so much taking place, despite challenging conditions at times.

Keeping participants engaged with activities

As ever, it’s been an important time to engage with new participants and whilst I’m hearing that some activities have seen reduced demand, there has still been plenty of people taking part for the first time. The next couple of months will be really important in shaping their future participation and I know many of you have plans in place that range from improvers sessions through to membership deals, buddy systems to targeted socials. I’d love to hear about your initiatives for keeping people engaged and turning them into long-term participants and members, so please get in touch.

Thank you to Clubs who completed the annual Club Membership Census

I’d like to thank the clubs and affiliated organisations that completed the annual Club Membership Census. We made it easier for you to complete this year; however, I know it still takes some time out of your schedules and I am really grateful for this. The insight genuinely helps shape our support and enables us to understand the health of the sport. We will feedback our findings once the data has been processed, but an initial look indicates that club membership has reduced slightly from last year. Of course some clubs are continuing to see increases, others are seeing reductions, therefore, I would encourage you to look at your own organisation’s position and try to understand why the numbers are what they are, whether positive or negative. It’s easy to make assumptions about the weather, or people having less disposable income, but some factual information can help us with making more informed future decisions. A mix of information usually helps us get a firm understanding of what’s going on; clubs are often data rich with info such as racing results, course registers, membership income, bar spend, boat parking, and of course you can gain feedback from individuals, whether from an exit survey for those that didn’t renew, or from chatting to people over the weekend, it all helps shape our understanding and plan for the future.

Instructor Development Opportunities

I’d like to make you aware that we have a number of instructor development opportunities coming up. These include: 2 x Senior Instructor preparation days, one on 5^th October at Alton Water and one on 2^nd November at Hunts SC. These days are for people thinking about becoming Senior Instructors, or would just like to know more. They are informal days and there are free places available. We have also planned a Race Coach Level 1 course (replacing the Racing Instructor Endorsement), ideal for those wishing to teach Start Racing, that’s on the 6^th October at Alton Water. We have a Powerboat Instructor course planned for 26-28^th October at Grafham Water, and have an Advanced Instructor course in the pipeline. If interested in any of the above, please contact jen.miller@rya.org.uk for more info and booking.

RYA Connected

Don’t forget that the RYA Connected events are returning for 2024/25, with a series of conferences and development workshops specifically designed for RYA clubs, class associations and other affiliates. These will be a range of in-person and virtual events, with all events FREE to attend - the full event calendar will be available soon, but in the meantime, make sure that you save the date for the Connected Conference being held on Saturday 23 November at the Royal Hospital School. Registration for this event and further information will be available very soon.

See you soon!

Robbie