Australian Sailing would like to remind last years accredited Discover Sailing and Safety & Sea Survival Centres which have not applied yet that the 2020-21 accreditation application window is closing on 30 September 2020. Indeed, from October 1 onwards course templates in the revSPORT system will be automatically deactivated for all Centres which have not applied. This will result in the loss of the ability to manage courses in the system.

In the 2020-21 season Discover Sailing Centres can choose to be accredited for the new OutThere Sailing program which is aimed at teenagers looking to have fun sailing on a Dinghy, Keelboat, Powerboat, Windsurfing and/or Stand-Up Paddle Board (SUP). Last year this pilot program registered a huge success among Clubs with a total of more than 3500 completed participants across Australia. The only condition to apply is that Centres have to be accredited for the program(s) the OutThere experiences are linked to (e.g. centres only accredited for the Dinghy program can exclusively deliver OutThere Sailing Dinghy experiences). For more information on OutThere Sailing please click here.

Due to COVID-19, Australian Sailing has made the below changes regarding the Discover Sailing and Safety Sea Survival Centre Operating Standards & Guidelines. These changes will ensure that accredited Centres have additional measures in place in order to meet the COVID-19 requirements set by state governments:

• Added new clauses on the 2020/21 Discover Sailing Operating Standards and Guidelines to maintain a COVID-19 safe environment for centre staff and course participants.
• Added new clauses on the 2020/21 Safety Sea Survival Operating Standards and Guidelines to maintain a COVID-19 safe environment for centre staff and course participants.
• Developed new checks in Centre Reviews to ensure that Centres are aligned with the Australian Sailing Operating Standards and Guidelines.

Amended Accreditation fees (see table below).

Australian Sailing will receive applications from organisations through the following Centre registration types;

Once applications have been submitted a review of the application will take place by the Education and Training Team. This will include cross-checking the application with the relevant Centre review, the Centre's revSPORT portal and any outstanding invoices (older than 30 days).

If the application is approved, the Centre will officially be accredited for the 2020/21 season and an accreditation invoice which is payable within 30 days will be issued.

A self-review form has been created for Discover Sailing Centres, which is aligned with the online reviewing tool and can be found here.

This self-review form is a fillable form and can be completed on a computer or portable device.
Centres are encouraged to use this form to complete a self-review prior to an Australian Sailing Club Services Officer visiting the Centre and conducting the Review.

Throughout the Centre visit the Club Services Officer will check items as either Yes, No or N/A and assign actions items based on observation. For all items that require further action or are checked as ‘No’, an action item with an associated due date will be recorded.

All Centre Principals and Centre Administrators are encouraged to read the new documentation to ensure they are across all expectations associated with being an accredited Centre.

For further information about the review process please contact your local Club Services Officer.