Rob's Round-up February 2024
Over the past two months we have been focusing on club support, with lots of meetings and club development workshops (see below for the remaining three) that have considered how you can adapt your offer to suit your membership. Now we’re shifting to focus on Instructor training, with the Regional Training Day, an Instructor Support Day for women at the Royal Dart Yacht Club and training days for Senior Instructors and aspirant Trainers.
I’m really looking forward to meeting up with the Trainers responsible for Instructor Training throughout the region at their revalidation on 13 March.
Connected Workshops
I’m pleased to say that the first three Connected Workshops in our winter schedule have been well received and we’ve had some very positive feedback. There are still three happening over the next few weeks, so don’t miss your chance to prepare your club for the future, at a venue near you:
Parkstone Yacht Club
28 February 1900 - 2030
Growing and developing your people. An evening of considering your volunteer strategy and training.
South Cerney Sailing Club
04 March 1900 - 2030
Preparing your club for the future: An evening of understanding and growing your membership.
Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club
06 March 1900 - 2030
Preparing your club for the future: An evening of understanding and growing your membership.
Regional Training Day
Bookings are now open for the 2024 SW Regional Training Day on 17 March at Whitefriars Sailing Club. If you’re an instructor, a racing coach or you’re involved in facilitating on-water activity, make sure you’re there!
The workshops will provide something for everyone,. There will be shorebased sessions in the morning, and then a choice of three-hour on-water workshops in the afternoon, covering power, sail and wing/wind. These sessions will give you the choice of improving your personal or your coaching skills:
- Consolidating sailing seamanship skills, looking towards the pre-entry sailing assessment
- How to expand your delivery style - using games with aims and the OnBoard framework and resources
- Bridge the gap - progressing from DI to SI by delivering excellent focused activity
- Building your coaching/instructing toolbox through creative activity design
- Taking your PBL2 delivery skills to the next level
- Introduction to Winging and the Wing scheme
- Expand your skills for delivering asymmetric spinnakers sessions
If you have any questions about the sessions please get in touch.
RYA South West Senior Dinghy Instructor Course
There are just a couple of places left on this four-day SI course, running over the two weekends of 09/10 March at Roadford Lake and 23/24 March at Stithians Lake.
It will take you from an RYA Dinghy Instructor to RYA Senior Instructor, covering the preparation and delivery of sessions, course and centre management, powerboat handling in a teaching environment and the RYA Sailing Schemes.
More information and booking form
If you are unsure whether you are ready for this course, or you have instructors who are uncertain about it, please contact me and I’ll talk you through the content and requirements. We can discuss whether the candidate is ready, or needs to do some other work or qualification first.
Volunteering in the region goes from strength to strength
Volunteering is absolutely crucial to our sport. As I go around the region it is very obvious to me that south-west volunteers are doing a tremendous job in our clubs, and some different groups of people are beginning to get involved too.
In particular, during a recent visit to Cornwall, I’ve seen that younger people are getting motivated by what they want to achieve in clubs. At Yealm Yacht Club, there’s a real buzz among young parents involved in creating a Recognised Training Centre. I was also really pleased to meet two new young flag officers from Pentewan Sands Sailing Club at a recent workshop.
Two articles published on the RYA SW website also applaud our volunteers. Find out about the young volunteers who are making a big difference at Paignton Sailing Club, Whitefriars Sailing Club and Exe Sailing Club and discover how volunteers helped Chesil Sailability celebrate its 10th anniversary last year, and are now moving it forward with a new Powerability project
Junior racing news from Regional Performance Manager, Duncan West
Save the Date for the BYS Regional Junior Championships (RJC)
The BYS Regional Junior Championships (RJC) is a festival for all junior sailors, from those who are learning to sail in club boats through to BYS Regional Training Group (RTG) sailors in their Recognised Junior Class. The Championships are being held on 22 and 23 June 2024 at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy. More details will be available over the next weeks and months, but if you’re not sure which fleet you should be registering youngsters for, or you need more information, book onto this online event:
RYA Connected event online on 27 February
The BYS Regional Junior Championships (RJC): What are they and which sailors are they aimed at?
Come and hear more about the Championships and how to get involved.
Race Coach Level 2 courses
We have a number of RCL2 courses happening in the region. These intensive two-day courses look at different areas of coaching and how to apply coaching skills in a practical series of on-the-water exercises. Find them all here - you can search using the filters on the left hand side, by ‘event audience (coaches)’ and region.
If you’re looking to host an RCL2 course for your members, please contact me.
The RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show
The SW team is looking forward to seeing you all at the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show at Farnborough International on 24 and 25 February– come and say hello!
Regional Manager Rob Howlett
07876 330374
rob.howlett@rya.org.uk