Summer weather has arrived and there’s a lot of activity on the water! Clubs are buzzing and I’m seeing loads of social sailing going on – it seems it’s often more popular than racing. A striking participant in all this activity is Dorset sailor Ken Fowler, who made national news when he finished his epic sailing challenge in aid of cancer charities. He has become the first person ever to sail around ALL the islands of England and Wales in a single-handed dinghy. Well done also to all those involved in the Dorset School Games on 6/7 June – it was good to see youngsters having fun out on the water.
New Club of the Year categories
Nominations for the RYA Club of the Year (COTY) Awards supported by Gallagher are now open and there are new categories for 2024. The awards celebrate the achievements and dedication of RYA Affiliated Clubs across the UK and this new format will widen their scope to allow greater recognition for individual clubs’ hard work and achievements.
- Community Club of the Year celebrates clubs that have created inclusive opportunities.
- Green Club of the Year recognises efforts in improving environmental credentials.
- Active Club of the Year acknowledges clubs that have developed diverse participation and volunteering opportunities, pathways, and training.
- Young Persons’ Club of the Year honours clubs that inspire, support, and develop young people aged 25 and under in their boating journey.
- Overall Club of the Year will be selected from the four category winners.
There will be fantastic prizes for the category winners. They include a safety boat package from Suzuki and boats package from RS Sailing – full details will be available soon.
Nominations are welcomed from everyone, you can nominate your own club and you don’t need to go for a particular category – that will all get sorted in the judging process, when nominated clubs are asked to provide more information for the Awards Panel to consider. We have a fantastic region here in the south-west, and we’ve won COTY twice in the last three years, so we could well win at least one of the categories again.
The deadline for nominations is Monday 28 August 2023
What support does your club need?
It may be summer, but we are already planning for the autumn and winter 23/24, when we traditionally host webinars, in-person forums, online presentations and conferences. We really want to know what club committees and volunteers want to hear about and what content would be most useful for you and your club, so we’ve put an online survey together.
The breadth of information and support we can deliver is huge, and includes legal advice, safeguarding, member benefits, volunteer training and recruitment, hosting open events and much more. But if you’re not sure what you need, there’s also a question on the form about what your club is struggling with at the moment – we can look at that and work out what support we can offer you.
We’re hoping that by collating the needs of as many clubs as possible, we can offer you all very beneficial, fit-for-purpose support and information this winter. Thanks for helping us shape all of the events, including the regional conference.
The survey will be open until the end of June, so please fill it in as soon as possible.
Census
Your club will shortly receive the annual Club Census documents. We know that it’s a busy time, and filling in the census is not your favourite thing to do, but the results are crucial for the RYA’s strategic planning, especially with regard to what support we provide for you. It’s also important for clubs to know their trends (you’ll get a report after the census is complete), and for us to see national trends too.
The census form is addressed to the person in your club registered to receive it, so please watch out for it if you’ve had a change of personnel.
If you have any issues with completing your census form, I’m very happy to help – please just contact me for assistance.
Junior racing news from Regional Performance Manager, Duncan West
The South and SW Windsurfing event is happening this weekend, on 10/11 June at BCYC Axbridge Reservoir – look out for a write-up shortly.
The South West Dinghy event is at Royal Torbay Yacht Club next weekend, on 17/18 June, so get any last-minute bookings in!
RDO Rob Howlett
07876 330374
rob.howlett@rya.org.uk
