We’ve had a wicked OnBoard month here in the south-west, and lots to look forward to next season. Here’s my last round-up for the year – I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you in 2023.
OnBoard Tutor training
Hannah Cockle, OnBoard Operations Officer, Susie Moore, RDO for the South region and I have just run an OnBoard Tutor training day at Adventure Bristol. This was a full day on the water with 14 hand-picked experienced trainers and senior instructors from the South and South-West, aimed at enhancing their knowledge and skills. They will now travel around the region to deliver OnBoard instructor training.
Thanks to Adventure Bristol for making us very welcome.
OnBoard demand is there!
I recently attended a PE Teachers Conference for Cornwall schools, and it was quite enlightening for me. Teachers stopped at my stand and started talking to me about sailing but seemed disinterested, until I told them about the OnBoard programme and the character education it involves. Then their faces changed!
The benefit for schools is that RYA Instructors are trained to deliver character education – unlike sports instructors from other governing bodies. So, if your OnBoard centre wants to get involved with schools, your instructors need to be comfortable with what OnBoard focuses on in terms of the character education, growth mindset and the power of yet. If you need help with that, contact Pete Bone and he’ll arrange for one of our OnBoard Tutors to come and give your team some free instructor training to make sure they’re up to speed and can deliver.
The response I received following the conference was fantastic; I got over 20 emails from teachers in Cornwall wanting OnBoard training for their schools and multi-academy trusts. The demand is there – with OnBoard, sailing is put firmly into their world.
Of course, it’s not all about schools. Clubs can deliver OnBoard to their own youth members. The benefit for clubs that we see doing this well is that their youth members have loads of fun as they develop as people as well as sailors.
Census data sheets
Data sheets have now been emailed out to clubs following the annual census. They are sent to the person who completed the census form, so if the contact has changed at your club, and you haven’t received your data sheet, let me know and I’ll email you a copy.
And If you are interested in looking at your trends and figures, I’m available throughout the winter for one-to-one meetings.
Regional Club of the Year
As I mentioned last month, Whitefriars Sailing Club has been named as the South-West Club of the Year, and goes forward to the national RYA Club of the Year competition. Read more about them in this recent article and then place your Club of the Year vote between now and 23 January.
It would be great to have another national Club of the Year from the South-West!
Save the dates
The SW Regional Training Days for 2023 will be on 12 March at Roadford Lake and 25 March at Rockley Watersports. They are for anyone involved in the practical delivery of activities supported by the RYA small craft schemes. The theme is ‘Creating a great participant experience’ and both the on-water and classroom activity will focus on participants’ selected sport (power, sail, wing/wind). Instructors can pick the venue closer to them, or go to both if they are qualified in two disciplines.
Look out for booking details soon.
Junior racing news from Regional Performance Manager, Duncan West
It’s time for clubs to think ahead, and plan your Race Coach L2 course for the new year. If you want to host a course at your club, email me or call 07747 111447 and I’ll talk you through the process and get it organised.
We’re in the midst of running BYS Regional Training Groups now, and it’s great to see the young sailors enjoying themselves on the water. So far we’ve had really good weather…
RDO Rob Howlett
07876 330374
rob.howlett@rya.org.uk
