Weir Wood SC Ups Bid To Get More Kids Sailing As Club Gets Onboard! 

East Sussex club latest to sign up to flagship grassroots programme

More local youngsters than ever now have the chance to get into sailing after Weir Wood Sailing Club signed up to OnBoard, the flagship kids’ grassroots scheme run by sailing’s national governing body, the RYA.

With less than a year until Rio 2016, Weir Wood SC, located on the edge of the Ashdown Forest at Forest Row, is laying down the foundations for local youngsters to develop a lifelong passion for sailing or even follow in the footsteps of Britain’s Olympic sailing heroes through the hugely-successful nationwide OnBoard scheme.

RYA OnBoard provides low cost sailing opportunities for school and youth groups, enabling kids aged 8-18 to learn to sail. If the youngsters enjoy the sport, and want to start taking it more seriously, OnBoard clubs have pathways in place to enable them to develop their skills further and, if they wish, start racing.

Weir Wood has an impressive track record in developing young racing sailors, with the latest graduate, Emma Baker, 17, selected to represent Great Britain at the prestigious 2015 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Malaysia next month. 

However many of these youngsters get into sailing because their families already sail. Weir Wood hopes joining OnBoard will help more youngsters who may never previously have discovered the sport get into sailing and have the opportunity to take advantage of the club’s renowned youth development initiatives.

Chris Hopkins, Weir Wood SC Youth Training Co-ordinator, explains: “OnBoard gives us a way to broaden the club’s appeal to the wider community and access to a larger pool of young people to introduce to the sport and the club. Hopefully many of those we reach will take up the sport and will introduce family and friends too.” 

Weir Wood SC already has established links with a number of local schools including Brambletye, Ashdown House, Michael Hall and Bede’s while also working more informally with Ardingly College and local Scout and Guide groups.

 Chris continued: “We would love to work with more local schools particularly in the state sector. The benefits to schools include access to equipment and qualified instructors to introduce young people to sailing and an outdoor lifestyle in an environment they can trust as being run to the appropriate standards. 

“Teachers and parents can have comfort that our courses and activities are run safely to nationally and internationally recognised standards. This is vital for parents to be reassured that their children will be well looked after when they are with us. Sailing helps develop confidence and self-reliance as well as being a lifelong pastime and one of the best things about the sport is there is always something new to learn.

“Our greatest challenge is we are a club run entirely by its members for its members and activities are run purely by volunteers who already work incredibly hard. Through being OnBoard we can hopefully also increase our pool of resources, which will then allow us to do even more, particularly during weekdays.”

Weir Wood SC is a recognised RYA Training Centre, meaning it conforms to the highest standards of safety and quality, and is also an RYA Champion Club, which helps feed youngsters into the RYA’s World Class junior and youth racing programme. 

 RYA OnBoard has an impressive track record – since its launch in 2005 over half a million kids have been introduced to sailing and windsurfing, with around 10% taking up the sport on a regular basis. There are almost 250 RYA OnBoard clubs and centres nationwide, with several more having joined the programme in 2015.

 Any local schools and youth groups interested in getting involved in OnBoard at Weir Wood SC should contact youth@wwsc.org.uk or for more information about Weir Wood SC visit www.wwsc.org.uk - to learn about OnBoard visit www.rya.org.uk/go/onboard