History, national governing body, membership organisation and more.
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The RYA - Overview
The RYA is the national body for all forms of boating, including dinghy and yacht racing, motor and sail cruising, RIBs and sports boats, powerboat racing, windsurfing, inland cruising and narrow boats, and personal watercraft.
The RYA's history goes back to 1875, when it was founded as the Yacht Racing Association. It became the Royal Yachting Association in 1952. Now universally known simply by its initials, the RYA remains constituted as a membership association, with a Council of elected volunteers as its supreme policy-making body.
The RYA's day to day management is vested in a professional staff of 140, the majority based at modern headquarters in Hamble on the UK’s South Coast. Other staff work regionally while RYA Scotland, RYA Northern Ireland and the Welsh Yachting Association are organised as autonomous bodies in their respective home countries.
The RYA's income derives mainly from membership subscriptions and club affiliation fees, training activities, and the sale of RYA publications. It receives some lottery funding which is 'ring-fenced' to support Britain's national sailing squad and its supporting development programme. The RYA's annual turnover is approximately £19m.
The RYA - Explained
1. A National Governing Body
Racing
The RYA administers the international racing rules of sailing (including windsurfing) in the UK, and the sport of powerboating. It's coaching and development schemes actively support over 600 of Britain's top sailors, from talented juniors to Olympic and World Champions. Sailing is one of Britain’s most successful Olympic sports and Britain holds the No. 1 spot in the sport's international rankings.
In powerboating, in 2014 the RYA Powerboat Racing Department helped over 600 people to race powerboats over the three disciplines of Offshore, Circuit and Jet Sport with several representing Great Britain in International competition.
Sport Development
Whatever your age or experience, we want to kindle, nurture, and support a life-long passion for boating in all its forms by all groups of participants.
The RYA has targeted participation programmes which provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get out on the water including RYA OnBoard, RYA Sailability and RYA Active Marina.
RYA Regional Development Officers work with clubs and training centres across the country to develop regular participation. Growing and marketing the sport is also a fundamental part of the RYA and the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show provides a national showcase for affiliated class associations, clubs and the industry.
Sport Administration and Governance
The RYA works widely with government and other organisations from the public, private, media and not for profit sectors. It represents members’ interests on over 50 statutory and consultative committees in the UK and internationally. It is widely held to be amongst the best-run and most progressive of all the UK sport’s national governing bodies.
Disabled Sailing
RYA Sailability; sailing and boating for disabled young people and adults.
The water offers a unique range of opportunities for disabled people to enjoy physical activity at all levels of ability and take part in competitive events.
RYA Sailability has established more than 178 ‘accredited sites’ (sailing clubs or organisations with varying levels of accessible facilities) throughout the UK.
2. A Membership Organisation
The RYA has over 105,000 personal members and 1,500 affiliated clubs and class associations. The latter represent some 350,000 active sailors throughout the UK.
As an RYA member, membership provides:
- Unlimited access to specialist and technical advice, news and bespoke support from our experts.
- Adds your voice to 105,000 existing RYA members ensuring that legislators, regulators and other authorities understand, and take account of, recreational boating activity.
- Means money saving offers and discounts.
- Offers 10% off most policies with Bishop Skinner Marine, including boat and travel insurance.
- Helps provide relevant, globally recognised training, certification, personal and professional qualifications.
- Supports you through the RYA's World Class coaching programmes, for young to adult sailors, giving you the chance to compete nationally and internationally.
Find out more about RYA membership here.
3. Internationally Recognised Training
For sailing, windsurfing and powerboating at both recreational and professional levels.
The RYA provides the worlds most widely recognised practical and theoretical training courses for boating, from novice to expert level, in all boating disciplines.
Whilst RYA Training originated for leisure purposes more than 40 years ago, for the last 20 years the RYA has also developed an extensive suite of courses and statutory qualifications that are formally recognised for commercial use not only in the UK but also in more than 20 other countries around the world and informally by many others.
UK organisations that have adopted RYA training include the Royal Navy, RNLI, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the MoD, the Police and the Fire Service. RYA qualifications are also widely used within the superyacht and workboat sectors and our dinghy, windsurfing and power boating instructor qualifications are the qualifications of choice for those working within the watersports industry.
4. Commercial Activities
The RYA is a leading maritime publisher, with over 110 titles including books, eBooks and DVDs on its current list. Its publications are highly regarded internationally and RYA titles have been translated into more than 20 foreign languages.
The membership magazine, RYA Magazine, has the highest circulation of all the UK’s leading boating magazines.