Sea Cadets in Birmingham get OnBoard

A Sea Cadets base in Birmingham has been awarded Royal Yachting Association accreditation in recognition of its work to inspire the next generation of sailors and windsurfers.

The organisation’s Midlands Boat Station at Edgbaston Reservoir works with thousands of cadets and young people from across the region each year and is already an RYA Training Centre.

In addition, the sport’s National Governing Body has now awarded RYA OnBoard status to the boat station as part of its grassroots programme to make watersports easier to access for 8-18 year olds.

RYA OnBoard centres benefit from a range of resources to support instructors and sessions, plus supplier discounts, enhanced training opportunities and increased opportunities for funding.

Howard Eeles, Manager of Midlands Boat Station, said: “We’ve been awarded OnBoard status because we give lots of young people first time experiences on the water, and it not only recognises our existing work with children and young people but also provides new ideas for running engaging activities and developing participation for the future.”

RYA OnBoard delivers expert tuition in a safe, structured and fun environment, enabling young people to not only learn how to sail and windsurf but also gain life skills such as teamwork, creativity, confidence, determination and independence.

Hannah Cockle, RYA OnBoard Operations Officer, said: “It’s great to welcome the Midlands Boat Station to the OnBoard programme. Getting out on the water has huge benefits for children and young people which go way beyond just learning a new sport. We look forward to working with the Sea Cadets boat station and its local community in the future.”

The Midlands Boat Station runs affordable RYA Dinghy, Windsurf and Powerboat courses for Sea Cadet units from across the region, plus instructor courses for parents and volunteers, and in autumn hopes to provide Day Skipper yacht theory courses as well.

The base is also one of three Sea Cadets boat stations involved in a summer project called On The Water, which will be encouraging hard-to-reach children to try watersports for free, via half or full day taster sessions, with places for more than 400 youngsters from the Birmingham area alone.

As Howard explains: “OnBoard recognition is a real bonus as we develop our activities and participation for young people via Sea Cadets and our community outreach work.”

Sea Cadets is currently fundraising for a new £3 million multi-purpose youth and community facility at Edgbaston Reservoir.

The building will provide a new home for Sea Cadets, a base for activities for young people from across Sandwell and south Birmingham, and a space for local community groups. It will also eventually provide a 30-bed residential watersports training hub for young people and volunteers, schools and community outreach projects.

So far £2.75 million has been raised and the first stage of what will be an 18-month build is expected to see the demolition of the existing buildings in October/November 2021.

Discover more about how RYA OnBoard helps under-18s get on the water and find your nearest centre at www.rya.org.uk/start-boating/get-onboard Find out more about the Sea Cadets Midlands Boat Station at www.sea-cadets.org/midlands-boat-station or @MidlandsBoatStation on Facebook.