Sailing & Windsurfing Where the magic happens


With lots of different sessions to choose from, sailors on a variety of kit and varying conditions, we need to make sure our sessions are fit for purpose. We need to challenge our students and push them outside of their comfort zone explains Sam Ross, RYA Windsurfing Trainer.


This is known as moving students into a zone of development.


What will push my sailor out of their comfort zone? » Skills


H


ow far out of their comfort zone should we push our students? What quick


measures can we use to work this out when developing technical skill? Many of the goals for our sailors will sit well outside their comfort zones so, when creating sessions, we may need to use a series of steps to make them achievable.


The nature of the exercise, its difficulty and whether they have experience in the skills. Can they already do the skill?


» Environment Wind, water state and temperature will all have an impact. Are they confident in these conditions?


» Equipment


Is their equipment familiar to them? Do they normally use it in these conditions? Does the equipment make their new challenge easier or harder?


Zone of Comfort


Zone


Zone of development


Ou of O t f r


Out of reach at present


If they can already do the skill, and are comfortable with the conditions and equipment, the exercise will be well within their comfort zone, so


may not be helping further development. However if they are new to the skill, new to the


conditions and less comfortable with the equipment, we have gone past the optimal zone of development and moved into the realms of ‘out of reach at present’. Instead consider introducing new, highly challenging skills in comfortable conditions using familiar equipment. If you apply this to some windsurfing skills you can work out the steps to higher level moves. A typical comfort zone for an early advanced sailor might be blasting back and forward across the wind on a 120 litre board on flat water. If their aim was to complete a planing carve gybe then you don’t simply send them off across the wind flat out and ask them to do some gybes. There are various exercises you can use to get them in an optimum zone of development and help expand their comfort zone. In stronger winds you might look at getting them used to sailing off the wind at speed and even taking


young people get involved in windsurfing. It was launched in 2002 to provide a network of youth windsurfing clubs where children can have fun and improve their windsurf skills. We now have over 40 windsurf clubs and 319 participants taking part regularly within regional interclub competitions and events. In April 2013, the RYA Racing


Team15: The way ahead T


eam15 is the RYA’s grassroots participation programme helping


stakeholders. As a result of the review, we are planning some changes and enhancements for the 2014 season and will be investing in the volunteers at the Team15 clubs. A summary of the changes:


» Review and amend some of the Team15 regional boundaries to reduce travel time to interclub events for more clubs.


Department took over the running of Team15, and over the course of the last year, have undertaken a review of the programme in consultation with its various


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» Investment in coach development for all Team15 club coaches. These opportunities will be primarily organised and run out of regional academies, with all local Team15 club coaches invited to attend.


it as far as unhooking on a broad reach to develop the entry and preparation stages of a gybe. In lighter winds you could


develop midpoint and exit skills, using moves such as heli tacks to work on foot changes and rig flips. Still in this development zone they can then go for the entire gybe but in conditions they feel most comfortable in, using familiar kit. As skills and experiences develop the comfort zone will grow. Your job is to develop exercises and reset goals to make sure the magic happens for your students.


Damon Hart


It was Harvey’s first time on a board without a dagger board but he thought he’d go out and do some tacking practice!


» Appoint Team15 Academies within each region, responsible for the running of the region’s interclub events. This will create a more consistent event, staffed by numerous experienced and expert club volunteers.


» Key volunteers within each academy will be invited to coaching professional development (CPD) opportunities to develop their skills in all aspects of running interclub events.


» Improved alignment of interclub events within the windsurfing calendar, looking to maximise opportunities to link the windsurfing pathway for young sailors (joining Team15 and


UKWA events where possible).


» Create a joint RYA and UKWA windsurfing end of season finale event comprising the UK Junior, Youth and Masters Championships and the Team15 Champions Cup. More information on the changes to Team15, including the original discussion document and the changes going forward are available on the Team15 website: www.team15.org.uk


www.rya.org.uk


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