Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club is a ‘not for profit’ organisation with charitable status. It is run by a volunteer committee and has a board of Trustees and a constitution. The constitution states:
‘The object for which the club is formed is to promote and facilitate community participation in healthy recreation by providing facilities for sailing, windsurfing and non-powered water sports.’
The club’s mission is to support opportunities to learn, develop and refine sailing and windsurfing skills from grass roots entry level through to high performance elite racing.
It does this by:
- Providing free taster session ‘Discover Sailing’ days for the general public
- Providing Beginner Training Sessions to members in both windsurfing and sailing
- Encouraging youth participation by only charging £25 junior membership
- Encouraging new comers to get involved by allowing them to do one or two beginner sessions before joining
- Encouraging families to learn to sail by only charging members £10 per training session. This gives them 2 hours of tuition, use of PPE, use of a craft, tuition and safety cover
- Providing Adult and Youth Improver Training Sessions
- Providing a fleet of training boats and windsurfers for club members to use when learning and for hire
- Providing Race Development Training sessions for those who are transitioning from ‘Improvers’ into racing
- Providing all the above tuition through club volunteers
- Providing club members with the opportunity to train and qualify as RYA Dinghy Instructors/ Windsurf Instructors/ Race Coaches and to do Powerboat and Safetyboat training and qualifications
- Providing on the water Safetyboat cover every weekend throughout the year and Wednesday evenings in the summer
- Providing a comprehensive programme of club racing throughout the year supported by volunteer Race Officers
- Hosting a large number of ‘Open’ race meetings throughout the year attracting sailors of all levels, including National Champions and Olympians, from all over the country to attend
- Hosting and support Northern Youth Development Squad Training weekends
- Promoting and supporting club youth sailors who have progressed onto Regional and National and Olympic Youth Squads
- Hosting Windsurf Demonstration Days and Race events
- Working in partnership with local youth organisations, schools, colleges to provide opportunities for young people to be introduced to watersports
- Working in Partnership with Bewerley Park Centre for Outdoor Education (NYCC) to share resources and provide training opportunities
- As a Royal Yachting Association Recognised Training Centre providing formal taught RYA skills courses in sailing, windsurfing and powerboating
- Offering Advanced Windsurfing coaching
- Allowing an open policy of ‘day sailing’ for non-members to use the venue for sailing, windsurfing or canoeing
- Working in close partnership with local organisations such as the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Yorkshire Water and Wildlife Conservation to protect and enhance the environment for wild life and visitors. (For example club volunteers annually cut the reed beds to enhance bird breeding habitats)
- Providing excellent on site facilities including secure equipment and boat storage, purpose built modern club house, training room, changing rooms and catering.
Updated February 2024