RYA Northern Ireland’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Yarnall explains: “As we have mentioned in previous communications with members and clubs, RYA Northern Ireland is reviewing its governance structures as part of our Navigating the Future strategy, where one of our strategic foundations is focused on strengthening the organisations governance. The proposed changes are being put forward to help provide greater organisational stability and put us in the best position possible to support members, whilst opening up opportunities to develop and grow the organisation in the future.
The Board of RYANI is proposing to change the length of term that a Chair holds. The proposal is to potentially change this from a three-year term to a three-year term with the option of adding an additional two years.
As well as this, there is a proposal for RYANI to have charitable status. There are more details on this proposal here
Greg Yarnall explains: “The proposed changes will be made through our Articles of Association. In order to amend our Articles of Association, RYANI is required to have 75 per cent of affiliated clubs voting in favour of the changes. We intend to issue these Articles of Association in writing to each affiliated club in the middle of September.
“The process will be through written resolution and we will request that if a club agrees to the proposed changes, a club representative signs the resolution on behalf of the club and returns this to RYA Northern Ireland. We are very grateful to our clubs in helping with this review and look forward to continuing to working with our clubs to deliver the Navigating the Future Strategic Plan.”