Getting more people racing: Weekday club evening races thriving
by Rupert Holmes 9 Jun 2015 22:31 AEST
9 June 2015
Hamble River Wednesday Night Series A day 3 © Bertrand Malas
One aspect of big boat racing that appears to be increasingly healthy is weekday evening racing, which is thriving at many clubs around the UK, even where attendance at supposedly higher profile weekend events is declining.
There appear to be a number of drivers for this, one of the biggest being that it doesn't interfere with increasingly precious weekend time where family commitments are often over-ridding. Given that most clubs have held their week day racing on the same night for many years, even those with busy jobs that involve frequent late finishes, can generally organize their schedule to keep race night free. "We think the attraction is that it's local and a whole series through the summer," says Lea Bennett of the Island SC in Cowes. "It also breaks the week up and gives you something to look forward to."
Inclusive and welcoming
At almost every club there is a very inclusive atmosphere surrounding week-night racing that welcomes newcomers to racing, whether crewing for others or perhaps entering their own cruising oriented yachts for the first time. This undoubtedly helps with the numbers, while also offering owners the chance to sail with and train new crew in an environment that's less pressurised than that of key events.
"We get a mix [of entries]," says Lis Robinson, of Hamble River SC, "about half are cruisers who enjoy getting out with a slightly more relaxed fleet, the shorter race courses and the conviviality afterwards in the club house. The other half, who come from across all the classes, race weekends as well but you can't tell one group from the other back in the club. Everyone is out there for fun and the atmosphere after racing in the club house is always great."
In addition many clubs run local handicap systems that are cheap and easy to take part in for boats that don't have an IRC certificate. This represents another breaking down of barriers that keep many of those who own a cruising yacht that they would be interesting in racing from getting to the start line. Many of these local handicap systems – as with the RYA NHC scheme – are adjusted throughout the season so that the racing is closer and so that those who make a big effort to improve their performance are rewarded in the final standings.
An efficient use of time
Perhaps the biggest single reason behind the popularity of weekday evening lies in the increasing time pressures that many of us are under, both from work and from family commitments. There's a sense that an escape from work, an intense spell of sailing, plus some invigorating socializing can all be accomplished in four hours during an evening, instead of taking out an entire day during the weekend.
This is a point that Mark Jardine, editor of Yachtsandyachting.com, is keen to point out. "Since having kids, weekend time is at a premium and usually taken up with family activities. The convenience of weekday evening racing has made this my regular sailing activity during the summer months. It has definitely given me the opportunity to get out on the water without impacting on the other commitments in my life."
However, it's also important to note that too much of a good thing has the potential to be counter productive. If there are a number of clubs in a small geographical area, and if each one runs an evening series, the numbers in each race can become seriously diluted. This, in turn, results in a reduced incentive to get out on the water – after all, if the competition's not great, then what's the point?
This appears to be the case in one of the West Country ports, where it's possible to race almost every weekday evening, but often in disappointingly small fleets. On the other hand, this is an aspect in which Cowes sets a good example – the Island Sailing Club's Tuesday Evening Series has long been legendary, but by and large the other clubs don't seek to compete with it by organising their own weekday evening racing.
Finally, don't forget to publicise your racing – reading about it on YachtsandYachting.com, or in the sports pages of your local paper, is a great way to relive an enjoyable evening. It also serves in important purpose in reminding those who weren't there exactly what they missed.
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