Sailing clubs in the Midlands are heading into the new season with a bumper membership following a pandemic boom in watersports as more people choose to spend their spare time afloat.
Lockdowns and staycations have seen families spending time at home rather than away – and looking for new ways to enjoy the outdoors.
Almost two years on from the first national lockdown, the RYA is reporting the number of sailing club members in England is back up to pre-pandemic levels, with over 255,000 people in England currently members of their local sailing clubs and 34,000 joining in 2021 alone.
Figures from the RYA Club Membership Census have also revealed that clubs in the RYA Midlands region gained 3,299 new members in 2021 compared with 1,409 joiners in 2020 and 1,794 in 2019.
Looking forward to the new season
Leicester Windsurfing & SUP Club, which is located at the city’s Watermead Country Park, now has more than 60 members after recovering from having just five in 2019.
A growing interest in Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) and then a season of staycations, led to the club proving popular with new members keen to discover watersports on their doorstep.
The club offers affordable and safe windsurfing and paddleboarding and has regular Club Sundays from April to October, plus Thursday evening sessions in summer. There are also camping weekends and excursions on local rivers and canals.
Spokesperson Ricky Driver said: “We had gone down to just five members and we were thinking of winding it up but about three years ago, paddleboarding saved the club. We managed to build the club back up and ended up with some lovely people joining us.
“The club then continued to grow through summer and in 2021 alone, we added about a third onto our membership, with an extra 20 taking us up to 65 members. We have a lot of families and half our members are mainly SUPers, which goes hand in hand with windsurfing.
“There is windsurfing kit for people to borrow and we give taster sessions, so a lot of people try it and most who try it, love it! Then when there’s no wind, I’m a windsurfer but I can jump on a SUP and enjoy paddleboarding – it’s good fun and good exercise and it’s sociable.
“We’re really looking forward to the new season and we’re starting to receive enquiries already from people who are interested in getting on the water with us this year.”
Look out for the club at the Leicester Riverside Festival, 4-5 June 2022, and find out more about the club and its activities at www.leicesterwindsurfingandsupclub.com
Accessible activities for all
Midland Sailing Club at Edgbaston Reservoir has gained nearly 70 new members over the last year through children and young people keen to learn new skills and get on the water, and windsurfers of all ages either wanting to try the sport or return to it.
Phil Reeves, Sailing Manager at Midland SC, said: “We ran a couple of open days and people were saying ‘this is brilliant!’ We’ve had a lot of younger members join us and we also grew our adult windsurfing section. Our location means that a lot of people don’t have to drive so we’re really accessible and have no shortage of people coming down to enjoy this oasis in the city. We’re currently getting four or five enquiries a week and we’re not even open for the new season yet!”
As usual the club will have a packed programme of activities across seven days of the week in 2022, with sailing and racing, windsurfing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, a Women on Water group, Sunday Sailability sessions for those with disabilities and a full range of taster sessions.
The club has recently upgraded its facilities and invested money in equipment, including intermediate windsurfing kit, three accessible boats for disabled sailors and an 18ft paddleboard, which can also be used for tandem windsurfing to support children or wheelchair-users.
Other developments have seen an additional floating pontoon installed and a new disabled toilet and two extra changing rooms, bringing the total to four to provide flexible changing options for different groups at the club, including visiting schools.
Midland SC is an RYA Recognised Training Centre, providing courses for all ages, including sailing, windsurfing and powerboating. It also part of the RYA OnBoard programme, providing a safe and fun environment for children and young people to enjoy sailing and windsurfing. To find out about the club and its activities visit www.midlandsailing.club
Discover & ReDiscover Sailing
Ben Hodgson, RYA Midlands Regional Development Officer, said: “We know that spending time outside and on the water has been appreciated by many people during the pandemic, with all ages discovering that our clubs and centres are an affordable place to spend time out from a busy working week or with the family.
“Results from our annual Club Membership Census have confirmed this trend and it’s great to see that venues are now offering even more activities for both existing members and would-be members, in addition to sailing, whether that’s SUPing, kayaking, swimming or windsurfing. 2022 is now a fantastic opportunity for clubs and centres to continue to build on this growing interest in watersports.”
Many clubs and centres are now planning ahead for ReDiscover and Discover Sailing events to inspire existing members back onto the water and recruit new ones with ‘have a go’ taster sessions.
If your club or centre would like support from an RYA Midlands Sailing Development Officer to explore ways of attracting and retaining members, find out more about this here or contact the team. There is also an RYA Guide to Developing Your Club available in Club Zone.
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