Britain's champions 

Promotion through excellence.

Supporting performance
As the national governing body, the RYA has the responsibility to help Britain’s brightest sailing and windsurfing talents fulfil their potential, from the early stages of their competitive careers to the pinnacle of winning Olympic medals.

To help nurture these talents, the RYA lobbies for, and receives investment through National Lottery funding from UK Sport and the Home Country Sports Councils (Sport England, sportscotland, Sports Council for Wales and Sport Northern Ireland) towards its world-renowned participation and performance pathways.

Such funding goes towards sailors’ competition, training and equipment costs as well as investing in world class support mechanisms which the RYA manages, such as coaching, coach education, sports science and medicine support.

In addition to this, the RYA secures additional investment from a number of commercial partners, including Skandia as title sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic Classes squad ‘Skandia Team GBR’, and Volvo Car UK as backer of a number of programmes and initiatives at youth level including the successful Volvo RYA Champion Club scheme which rewards flagship clubs who have a proven commitment to youth sailing and race coaching.

Opening doors - Promotion through excellence
Success breeds success and the RYA has been able to establish one of the best sport development programmes in the world built on the platform of our Olympic triumphs. There is a clear and direct link between Olympic success and clubs and schools at the very ‘grass roots’ of sailing.

The development and success of schemes such as the RYA’s ‘OnBoard’ programme, which gives children the opportunity to try sailing, indirectly owe much of their success to the drive for fresh talent and the impetus which the Olympics create.Skandia Team GBR’s dominance has brought more money and greater participation into our sport.

This in turn means improvements across the board, be it improved facilities at local sailing clubs to more money being spent on technological developments. And when it comes to issues affecting the wider community of recreational boaters – such as e-borders, Windfarms or marine conservation zones the RYA’s reputation as an organisation committed to excellence earns us the ear of key decision makers at government level and keeps your interests at the heart of marine policy.