Sailing clubs and class associations have a wealth of expertise and experience, and every club and class association have members curious and keen to learn.  

Clubs and sailing committees are preparing to commence training, coaching and racing programs for the season ahead. Below are a few reasons why it’s great to celebrate the expertise in your club and class and to offer opportunity for your club and class champions to pass on their knowledge to members to:  

1. Develop a community of learning and training at the club 

2. Foster cross generational member relationships 

3. Encourage collaboration between classes and disciplines 

4. Help others to find different and better ways to enjoy sailing 

5. Improve member experiences for new and experienced sailors 

6. Reward, recognise, and retain knowledge in the club and class 

7. Provide opportunity to connect and feel valued 

How can you share the expertise at your club?  

A few ideas to get you started include:  

• Invite your experienced sailors or officials, to present club seminars (e.g., The top 5 tactical tricks of our club champions! or, Rules and how you can use them to your advantage at the start). The seminars can be brief, and clubs could deliver 2-3 per season.  

• Invite your champion sailors to share their top tips and tricks in your club newsletter.  

• Share tips from a club champion on your club noticeboard: ie ‘Club Champion’s Key Tips to Starting’, or ‘How Club Champion Overcomes Challenges around the Racecourse’ 

• Choose a few of the above tips and periodically share them across your social media accounts with fun photos and engaging text. 

Club Pathway resources are currently in development and some clubs around Australia are testing resources this summer. This tip is an excerpt from the ‘Quick Wins for Clubs: Developing Club Coaching’. Whilst the ‘Quick Win Checklist’ is in development, should this be of interest to you please contact sarah.ogilvie@sailing.org.au