Displaying items by tag: RYANI
Last year marked 50 years since the founding of RYA Northern Ireland, and three of those who were there at the beginning have shared their memories of how it got off the ground.
In 1973, amid the turmoil of the Troubles, Northern Ireland had no national governing body for sailing.
“The UDRA [Ulster Dinghy Racing Association] had effectively become ‘defunct’ but there was a need for the RYA to be in Northern Ireland,” Curly Morris said.
Indeed, such a body was a pre-requisite for funding under The Sports Council established by the restored devolved government, according RYANI’s first female chair Maeve Bell.
Her husband Adrian Bell noted: “If you were going to get government funding you had to have some sort of organisation which would be respected, so the current Sports Council needed to have a body. This is where the ISA couldn’t do that at that time.”
The RYA website has more on this story HERE.
RYA Northern Ireland’s Women On Water Festival will take place at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in Cultra on Sunday 12 May and online sign-ups are now open to women across Northern Ireland and the wider island of Ireland.
“You don’t have to have taken part in a Women On Water programme before,” RYANI club coordinator Lisa McCaffrey makes clear. “It’s just an opportunity for anyone to get out on the water and meet like-minded people who love nature and love being out on the water.”
The RYA website has more on the festival and the wider Women On Water programme HERE.
Three-time Olympian and 2016 ILCA World Champion Alison Young will provide coaching for Northern Ireland sailors at RYA Northern Ireland’s ‘Female Focused Camp’ at Ballyholme Yacht Club on the weekend of 27-28 April.
The camp is specifically targeted for junior and youth performance pathway women and girls, who will benefit from elite-level coaching from Young as well as CPD training from Robyn Phillips of RYA Scotland, who boasts extensive coaching experience of her own.
RYANI says the camp — which will comprise the Topper, Feva, ILCA and 29er classes — is central to its five-year strategy, Navigating The Future, as well as its pilot Project Theia which includes a Women on Water development programme.
Spaces for the weekend are very limited and bookings are being taken on a first come, first served basis. For more on the coaching camp and how to take part, see the RYA website HERE.
RYANI Discussing Options for Safe Disposal of Out-of-Date Flares
RYA Northern Ireland says it has been in discussions with British Marine and other stakeholders regarding the safe disposal of out-of-date flares.
Marine flares have become increasingly difficult to dispose of in Northern Ireland in recent years, which RYANI recognises “has been a source of immense frustration for boaters”.
While facilities exist for expired flare disposal elsewhere on the island of Ireland, there are currently no such facilities in Northern Ireland.
And while marinas and chandleries in the region have been approached regarding the possibility of hosting such collection hubs, RYANI says that “none of these sites have agreed to take this on and Northern Ireland continues to have no designated facilities for the safe disposal of flares”.
It adds: “There are ongoing conversations with the wider sector to try and resolve this situation with an amnesty day also being explored.
“We will keep our members updated as soon as any development is made but reassured that the sector is working hard to find a solution here in Northern Ireland.”
RYA Northern Ireland Youth Squads Shine at Celtic Cup in Pwllheli
Ten of Northern Ireland’s Topper and ILCA sailors travelled to Plas Heli in Pwllheli for the Celtic Cup earlier this month (3-4 February).
This annual event sees the best youth and junior sailors from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland compete for the accolade of top Celtic nation.
And this year it was Wales who claimed the crown with a narrow single-point victory — though the RYANI contingent put in a strong showing, edging the overnight leads in both classes.
The event also provided a great opportunity to solidify friendships with the other Celtic nations, which will be even more vital in light of the summer events schedule with competitions such as the ILCA 6 Youth Europeans at Ballyholme Yacht Club.
For more see the RYA website HERE.
Entries Now Open for Northern Ireland Team Racing Programme
Entries are now open for RYA Northern Ireland’s Team Racing Programme, following on from a successful coach development weekend last month.
This RYANI programme, which is the first of its kind for Northern Ireland, aims to provide more double-handed pathway opportunities for junior and youth sailors.
Five open training sessions will be run over the next few months at Ballyholme Yacht Club and Strangford Lough Yacht Club with the support of Queen’s University Sailing Club.
These sessions will cover boat handling, tactics and strategy, racing rules, scenarios and teamwork — with a view to sending a Northern Ireland U19 team to compete for the Elmo Trophy at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire this August.
For further details, see the RYA website HERE.
RYA Northern Ireland’s Coach Development Programme Kicks Off With Team Racing at Ballyholme
RYA Northern Ireland’s Coach Development Programme held its first session at Ballyholme Yacht Club last Saturday 20 January.
Launched in December, the new initiative — part of RYANI’s five-year strategy, Navigating The Future — offers free training in an effort to develop a pool of coaches capable of coaching at a national level.
Day one featured a team racing workshop hosted by RYANI marketing and communications executive Peter Gilmore, a safeguarding presentation as well as an on-the-water session to put theory into practice.
While Northern Ireland currently lacks an active team racing circuit, there are plans to develop the format as part of RYANI’s pilot Project Theia.
For more details, see the RYA website HERE.
RYA Northern Ireland launches its first ever podcast this coming Friday 26 January.
Crest Of The Wave will be hosted by RYANI marketing and communications executive Peter Gilmore and will feature a diverse array of guests and topics intended to paint a broader picture of sailing and boating in Northern Ireland, highlighting the goals of RYANI’s five-year strategy Navigating the Future.
RYANI chief Greg Yarnall said: “I’m really excited for the launch of our podcast, as the stories being shared can inspire others, whether to get involved as a volunteer, coach or official, to explore having a go at a different part of the sport they hadn’t considered, or even to pursue a career in the sport.”
Crest Of The Wave will be available fortnightly from all major podcast platforms. For more, see the RYA website HERE.
Several of RYA Northern Ireland’s ILCA squad spent the New Year break at a warm-weather training camp in Valencia, Spain from 27 December to 3 January.
Supported by RYANI performance manager Hammy Baker, the contingent comprised ILCA 6 sailors Lewis Thompson and Daniel Palmer from Ballyholme Yacht Club as well as Bobby Driscoll (RNIYC) and Zoe Whitford (East Antrim BC), who received support from Irish Sailing, and Cormac Byrne (Strangford SC) who received support as part of Liam Glynn’s ILCA 4 Development Squad.
While this was the second year that Northern Ireland sailors have make the trip to Valencia for winter training, it was the first time they were joined by their counterparts from RYA Scotland and RYA Wales.
“It was great to have the other home nations with us,” Performance manager Andrew Baker said. “Ahead of the Celtic Cup (3-4 February in Plas Heli, Wales) and The Europeans (27 July-3 August, Ballyholme YC) I feel it’s important for the sailors to meet each other and create new training groups that are logistically in reach. There also seems to be more enthusiasm for the Celtic Cup and some competitive rivalries forming.”
For more on the RYANI ILCA training camp in Valencia, see the RYA website HERE.
Three Open Coaching Roles at RYA Northern Ireland
RYANI is currently recruiting for two lead coach roles for the Development Academy and Team Racing as well as a Women On Water Ambassador.
The lead coach of the Development Academy provides a supportive learning environment for junior sailors within the academy, sharing their passion towards the racing pathway to the younger generation in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, in the Team Racing Programme, the role of the lead coach is to help deliver the programme, with structured sessions to increase the knowledge of this developing area of sailing. Team racing coaches should ideally have an in-depth knowledge of team racing rules and tactics.
The Women On Water Ambassador is expected to lead and develop the Women On Water Development Programme. By providing a supportive learning environment for women within clubs and centres, RYANI’s aim is to encourage higher participation levels, upskill people across a variety of pathways and develop a passion for people to develop in their chosen pathway.
For more details on these open roles at RYANI, see the RYA website HERE.