Glossop competes for RYA Club of the Year

by Alan Henderson on 12 Feb 2011 RYA - Glossop Sailing Club has today been named as a finalist in the RYA Club of the Year competition. After detailed scrutiny of all the applications from across the country, just five of the very best clubs have made it into the final, and one is Glossop.

Soon representatives of Glossop Sailing Club will travel to the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace in London, where they will enjoy a slap up lunch with all the other finalists, before the name of the winning club is announced at the Show on the Volvo Main Stage at 16:30 on Saturday 5th March.

Glossop Sailing Club is based at Torside Reservoir, in the Longdendale Valley, within the Peak District National Park, and is a club well known to local RYA staff. RYA Regional Development Officer Sally Kilpatrick said, 'Glossop are a fantastic club, extremely proactive and have development plans for everything they want to achieve.

A few years ago, they set up T15 and OnBoard and these go from strength to strength.' Team 15 (T15) and OnBoard are RYA programs which are designed to encourage more children into windsurfing and sailing respectively.

RYA High Performance manager Chris Blackburn added, 'Glossop have put a lot of hard work into developing their junior programs, T15 windsurfing and dinghy racing. This place in the final is a great credit to their passion and determination.'

Clubs working to help involve new people, young and old, in boating can benefit from the many RYA programs which help teach and involve new people in the sport. Glossop has been really active in identifying and offering RYA programs. As an RYA Training Centre, it can train both young people and adults on a variety of courses. Young people can enjoy power boating as part of the RYA Honda Youth RIB program, as well as sailing and windsurfing on OnBoard and T15.

Glossop is also working towards becoming an RYA Volvo Champion Club, which means that the club will teach kids to race, once they have learned to sail. It’s not just kids who get all the fun at Glossop, adults can join in the RYA’s Increasing Adult Participation program, which encourages adults to sail and race more often.

But the path which has led to Glossop’s current strong position has not always been smooth. Torside Reservoir was without water from 2006-2008, but members worked hard to preserve a sailing club, based on alternative water. Since 2006, the club has rebuilt its membership base with specific focus on juniors and families. Membership is now back up to 2006 levels and fifty percent of the membership are active juniors.

The club has also organized events for the region. These include an event for Derbyshire Youth Sailing, a Regional final of the RYA Honda Youth RIB Championship for powerboats, and T15 windsurfing events.

Glossop Sailing Club Commodore Will Ardern said: 'For me this was fantastic news and is a welcome recognition of the tremendous efforts of the volunteers who have given their time to develop the Club for the benefit and enjoyment of so many newcomers to the sport.

The Club of the Year scheme was an opportunity to promote Glossop as a Club that has passion not only for its future but for its potential future members. The RYA, its Regional Officers and their assistance and advice are the heart of this sport.'

www.rya.org.uk