Entry to the RYA Northern Ireland Youth Championships and NI Schools Cup closes shortly and the RYA is urging as many youth sailors to enter as possible. Northern Ireland's premier Youth and Junior Sailing event will be hosted at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on 26th & 27th September 2015.

The event will offer youth and junior sailors high level competition as well as accessible training and coaching through a RYANI coach supported regatta fleet.

Competitors are invited to race in the Optimist, Topper, Topper 4.2, Mirror, Feva XL fleets if they are under 16 as of 31st December 2015, and may compete in Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 fleets if they are under 19 as of 31st December 2015.

The event will also act as an indicator for all sailors interested in being selected for RYANI Junior and Youth Squads.

#ryajob – The Royal Yachting Association in Northern Ireland (RYA NI) is seeking to appoint an Active Clubs Coordinator. The purpose of this role is work in partnership with RYA clubs and training centres to create and implement sustainable introductory and regular sailing and windsurfing activity. The successful applicant will work with RYA clubs and training centres to assist them with developing innovative initiatives and interventions to increase club membership and to create a range of training, learning, education and capacity building opportunities for coaches and volunteers. Closing date for applications is 4pm on Thursday 26th March 2015. More here

It was hard to miss the big announcement of '100 days to go' for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this week but today it is the turn of RYA Scotland as they also reach the '100 days to go' milestone for the Commonwealth Flotilla.

As previously reported, the Commonwealth Flotilla is an official Festival 2014 event and the RYA Scotland team is delighted to be part of the Games experience for spectators and visitors. The event has really gathered pace since the formal launch at the end of February. With over 250 applications having been received already, the response of people looking to get on the water and get involved has been overwhelming.

The Commonwealth Flotilla, which will see the largest number of boats ever assembled on the Clyde, will take place over the weekend of 25-27 July 2014. The morning of Saturday 26 July 2014, the mass Flotilla will make its way on the 17 nautical mile (32km) journey from Greenock to Pacific Quay in Glasgow, adjacent to BBC Scotland and the Glasgow Science Centre. The event is the perfect way to not just promote sailing as a sport, but also to showcase Scotland as a fantastic place to visit and to go sailing.

"Our trip up the Clyde and into Glasgow at the end of July won't just be about the sail itself. If your boat isn't one of the 250 registered to take part then all is not lost as there will be lots of other chances to get involved and enjoy this spectacular opportunity" commented Claire Caffrey, RYA Scotland Marketing Officer.

The RYA Scotland Commonwealth Flotilla is actively seeking boats from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland and beyond to enter. The Flotilla is not just for Scottish boats. RYA Scotland would like to welcome and are encouraging boats from all over the UK, across Europe, the Commonwealth and beyond to join us for the event of a lifetime. Don't miss out – register before 28th April 2014.

Scotland is one of the best places in the world for sailing – challenging waters, a beautiful and dramatic coastline, intriguing history and places to visit – wrapped with a genuine warmth and hospitality along the way. Combining this with the Commonwealth Games, Homecoming Scotland, the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme and the Commonwealth Flotilla event means there really is no better time to visit Scotland and experience all that Scotland and the city of Glasgow has to offer.

#RYANI - Newtownards Sailing Club will be hosting this year’s Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland (RYANI) Instructor and Coach Conference.

The conference on Saturday 16 February is aimed at RTC principals, RYA instructors and Volvo Champion Club coaches and co-ordinators.

Topics to be covered include Racing Rules of Sailing rule changes for 2013-2018 and a national update on activity by the RYA throughout the year.

The event also has an allowance for on-the-water activities, with a chance to pick up some new ideas for training in sailing and powerboating in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Sunday 17 February will see various courses taking place throughout the day, including in first aid and SRC/VHF certification, as well as a club mark laying course for RYA members.

This half-theory, half-practical course will give an introduction to mark-laying which includes basics like how an anchor works plus techniques to stream marks, lay level gate marks and spreader marks, and a short section on signalling.

Details on booking your place at the Saturday conference and on the Sunday courses are available at the RYANI website HERE.

Carlingford Lough Yacht Club in Northern Ireland has been presented with the prestigious Volvo RYA Champion Club award.  Carlingford Lough has been recognised for its very active racing programme focusing on the Laser 4.7, Radial and Topper classes. The club encourages and supports talented young sailors to develop and progress throughout the RYA Youth and Olympic programmes.

The presentation was held at the Yacht club's annual dinner dance and presentation at local Whistledown Hotel, Warrenpoint. Commodore, Michael McCann understands the importance of developing the club's youth sailors "We are all very delighted and proud to have been awarded the coveted Volvo Champion Club status. This achievement is a reflection of the great work, dedication and energy which has been put into youth and junior sailing in recent years.

While a number of senior club members have been involved along the way I must single out our past sailing secretary Dr Henry McLaughlin who worked to fulfil the arduous requirements necessary to gain this recognition. The Club would also like to thank Volvo and the RYANI for this award and we will continue to work with them to promote Championship level sailing in the region."

The club's junior training programme is run by 8 regular volunteers who are committed and dedicated to helping with the racing, training and the club's busy social programme. For the past three years the club has had five juniors in the RYA Volvo national squad and at the 2010 RYA Volvo Zone Home County Championships in Northern Ireland two of the members excelled both finishing in second place.

Carlingford Lough Yacht club is one of only 12 clubs in Northern Ireland and 171 nationwide to be awarded the esteemed Volvo RYA Champion Club status. Richard Honeyford, RYA High Performance Manager for Northern Ireland presented the club with the award "I am delighted to be presenting this award in recognition of the great work that Carlingford Lough Yacht Club has done to help young sailors to develop their racing skills.  Following the success of British sailors at the Beijing Olympics, and with the 2012 Olympics fast approaching, we may well be training future Olympians here in Carlingford Lough"

The Volvo RYA Champion Club Programme aims to encourage young sailors and windsurfers at grassroots level to stay in the sport and learn to compete, while encouraging clubs to introduce youngsters to the sport and help develop their skills. The key challenge for the programme is to encourage more young people to start participating in sailing and then progress with their racing careers.

Now Carlingford Lough Yacht club has been awarded the Volvo RYA Champion Club status, the sailors will see increased levels of development advice and professional coaching including support from the RYA. Carlingford Lough will also have access to the recent commitment from Sport England of £1.1m to the RYA's flagship youth sailing initiatives, to further enhance club coach and volunteer development across England over the next three years.

The RYA is the national body in the United Kingdom for all forms of boating, including dinghy and yacht racing, motor and sail cruising, RIBs and sports boats, powerboat racing, windsurfing, inland cruising and narrowboats, and personal watercraft. The RYANI is their Northern Irish branch.

For the latest RYA Northern Ireland news from Afloat click here

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here