Susie's Scoop June 2020

07 Jun 20
 

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all keeping safe.

The RYA South team, as well as the RYA teams across the UK, have been working hard to make sure that you and your members feel supported through the period of lockdown. As these measures are loosened, we’re now busy focusing our attention on the next small steps that Clubs and Centres are allowed to take, in line with the national guidance.

With the easing of restrictions, I’d like to remind all clubs that the RYA advises the boating community as a whole to take a considerate and conservative approach. But just what exactly does this mean? More club guidance can be found here but in essence it is to:

  • Be considerate: be mindful of the potential impact that you could have on other water users and do not place unnecessary extra strain on the RNLI and emergency services.
  • Be conservative: help to minimise risk by taking an extra conservative approach to your boating. 

I’m delighted that so many clubs in our region are taking a responsible attitude and developing strategies to help with a phased approach to returning to the water. You can find a helpful RYA Guiding Principles poster to display in your club here.

I strongly recommend that you do have a read of the RYA’s Club Guidance restarting boating activity and managing Covid-19 as it contains all the latest information,

I know thatmany of you are thinking about, and planning, how to safely restart RYAtraining activity, when Government guidance allows. The RYA recently issuedguidance to assist if, when and how this RYA training activity should takeplace. I recommend that you have a look at this guidance on the RYAwebsite. Here you will also find a wealth of information along with severalwebinars delving a little deeper into the guidance and considering what thelatest Government restrictions currently mean.  

Please remember that I am here to support you as we take these next steps together. Do feel free to give me a call or email me with any questions, queries or worries that you have.

With communication in mind, this leads me nicely onto the Club Development Forums.

Club Development Forums: sharing experiences

To help bring clubs together, I have been hosting a series of weekly online South Club Development Forums. The forums take place twice, at 3pm and 7pm, every Wednesday and last for approximately one hour. National forums, where clubs are welcome to join from other RYA regions, as well as the South region, also take place as and when needed.

Each week focuses on a particular subject which has developed as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. To see the full schedule of weekly topics, and to book your place visit here. After you have signed up you will be emailed instructions on how to log on to the webinar.

If the area that you would like advice on is not due to be discussed soon in an upcoming South Club Development Forum then ‘TimeToTalk is for you.

Time To Talk

#TimeToTalk is an opportunity for Clubs, Class Associations and Centres to come together online to talk and discuss issues currently affecting us. Time To Talk is very much led by you: so please do come prepared to get involved and engage with the discussion. Time to Talk takes places place every Thursday at 11am-12pm for Clubs and Class Associations, then at 1pm-2pm for Recognised Training Centres. Pre-booking is required and we also ask that you indicate when you register what you would like to discuss or if you would prefer to simply listen. To book visit here

Just days left for your nomination for new ‘Honor Preston Award’ 

In order to encourage and support a positive change in attitude to diversity, RYA Chairman, Chris Preston is introducing and donating a new award that will recognise the RYA’s core value of inclusivity and provide public recognition of the good practice among our boating community.

The ‘Honor Preston Award’ is named after his mother who firmly believed boating should be inclusive for all. It will be presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution in time, effort and personal endeavour to increase the inclusivity of boating and in particular, but not limited to, female participation.

The award will be presented at the RYA Volunteer Awards in November. To nominate someone please complete the nomination form here Guidelines and nominations criteria can be found here 

The closing date for nominations is 17:00 Friday 12 June 2020

Membership Census now open

The 2020 Club Membership Census is underway and we need your help. We understand how busy our South clubs are right now, and we have tried hard to make this process as quick and easy as possible for you.

All RYA Clubs are invited to take part – we need at least 85% of clubs to reply in order to produce credible insights that are robust. Last year the South region was one of the best performing regions - with 90% response rate - let’s try to maintain or better this.

The more comprehensive the information you supply the more insights and trends we can discover, nationally and regionally. This means that we can support you, the people running the clubs, with the very best information.

Membership information that we hope to be able to help you and your clubs with include:

  1. Retention and growth - the number of your new club members and those not renewing membership.
  2. Changes in your membership and perceived reasons for any changes.
  3. The membership capacity at your club, capacity limitations and aspirations.

How does my club complete the census?

This week, every club has been emailed with a link to complete the census. If your nominated club contact has not received this email then please email me.

The deadline for completing the Census is 13 August 2020. However it is important that you try to submit your data on the same date as last year. Hopefully you have a note of this already in your club’s management calendar of key dates. You can also find this in the email that has been sent to your club contact this week, as well as in your club’s previous data documents.

I know it takes time to collect, collate and input the information required and I would like to thank you for your involvement, which really is invaluable. The results are valuable to us and we aim to make them of use to you and your clubs too.

Keeping up-to-date: Facebook and Twitter

To keep up to-date with all the latest news and advice, then please do follow RYA and RYA South Facebook and Twitter. We post news on a daily basis as well as all updates and links to more information relating to changes to Covid-19 and Government easing of the restrictions.

Club of the Year – Save the Date

Nominations for the 2021 RYA and Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year Award open on 1 August. So do please start to think about if your Club would like to part this year.

Even if you don’t become a finalist, many clubs find the journey of completing the application alone can be very beneficial to their club. As 2019 winners, Royal Torbay Yacht Club commented:

“We applied once we’d consulted with our members, and had produced an up-to-date development plan. It’s not so much the award itself, but the work we did to get there that’s been so valuable. Having said that, the award has been brilliant recognition for our members, because volunteers are the lifeblood of any club, and it’s boosted our profile locally to generate membership. And it’s a lovely ‘halo’ over the club that just gives us a bit of an edge and recognises the people who are proud to be a part of it.”

Adrian Peach, Commodore, added: “Even if you don’t win, if you go through the process, with a plan and an outside-in view of what you do, getting everything right will help any club improve its future.”

#SailFromHome – something for everyone

The online dedicated RYA #sailfromhome has been extremely popular and we will continue to deliver new content direct from the various RYA media channels including Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

Whilst we take our first steps back onto the water, you can still get your sailing fix as we broaden the scope and introduce #Returntoboating.

So do keep an eye on your social media feeds and be sure to tune in for the latest topics including: Return to boating and social distance sailing, Planning for a safe return to racing and Planning to safely re-open club buildings.

Please share

Please share this Club Room - and encourage people to sign themselves up here. This is our main communications list for club related information so be the first to hear.

And finally…please keep in contact

The more we share with each other, the more we can learn about the challenges that clubs are facing and how we can best navigate these together. You can email me here