Competitions, celebrations and more

by Emma Slater on 2 Mar 2011 RYA Volvo Dinghy Show. The RYA has a whole host of events taking place throughout the weekend (5-6 March).

Under the roof of the magnificent Alexandra Palace in London, the RYA will be launching a number of new initiatives and publications.

The show marks the official launch of the RYA’s new Sail for Gold programme (13.45, Volvo Main Stage, Saturday), which aims to bring the excitement of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games to sailing clubs and training centres across the country. There will also be more information about how you and your club can get involved with the programme on the RYA stand in the Panorama Hall.

The Green Blue, the environmental programme of the RYA and BMF will be launching their new Green Club Guide with the help of Mike Golding, Vendee Globe Skipper and Ambassador for The Green Blue (14.45, RYA Stand Panorama Hall, Saturday). The Green Guide is packed full of practical advice to show clubs how to make environmental improvements and save money.

RYA Sailability will also be unveiling their new TEAM Sailability Volunteer Log book (15.45, Coaching Area Panorama Hall, Saturday). Joined by British Paralympic and Team Volvo for Life sailor, Skandia Team GBR’s Helena Lucas the logbooks aim to; 'support volunteers in developing the skills they need to give sailors a consistently positive experience and record their personal progression', explained Debbie Blachford, RYA Sailability Manager.

Whilst, RYA publications officially launch their two newest titles, RYA Go Green! (16.00 Volvo Main Stage, Saturday), with the help of Mike Golding and TV’s Chris Packham and the RYA Optimist Coach Handbook. Hear from the authors themselves about writing the books and what you can expect inside the pages.

There are also some great prizes to be won.

Buy a copy of the new RYA Optimist Coach Handbook and you could win a one day training session at Plas Menai in North Wales with the author himself, Alan Williams. Or perhaps you could win yourself a fantastic ‘Just Sail’ kit bag in the RYA Sailability raffle. The kit contains dry suit, dry bag, sailing gloves, dinghy boots, a £100 RYA Gift Voucher and some RYA instruction manuals, and all the money raised in the raffle will go towards supporting opportunities for disabled people to take up the sport of sailing, and facilitate sites to develop sailing opportunities (winner announced at 16.00, Volvo Main Stage, Sunday).

Other great prizes up for grabs are a brand new Laser Pico, Sunsail holiday for family of four to Club Vounaki or a ‘money can’t buy’ sailing trip on the C-Class Wing Sail Catamaran – Invictus. All you have to do is identify all the Laser Picos on display at the show, and pop along to the Foiling Fundamentals talk (Volvo Main Stage 12.00) and you could win a two day learn to foil course for two at Mar Menor in Spain, courtesy of Pro Vela.

And there’s more! Why not join in the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the RYA’s Team15 youth windsurfing programme (11.30, RYA Stand Panorama Hall, Saturday), learn more about the Activate your Fleet programme (RYA Stand, Panorama Hall) helping to get more adults sailing and getting underused boats back out on the water or simply pick the brains of the RYA experts. The Sport Development, Coaching, Race Officials and Technical teams will be on hand to provide advice and guidance on everything from getting started to improving your skills out on the water.

There will also be lots of information on all the RYA’s training courses, details on becoming a member and the benefits of membership, and if you’re already a member you’ll get 20% discount on all RYA publications throughout the show.

For full details of what’s on and to book your tickets click here.