There are many reasons why an individual would want to become a sailing instructor. It is a fun, outdoors job teaching people the sport you love and can offer flexible working hours to fit around things like study.

It could be that someone wants to pass their sailing knowledge and experience on to others or, maybe it is a way to be engaged in the sailing community and enjoy the social feel of a sailing club. Sailing is a very social sport and for some people supporting getting more people to participate in sailing adds to the sporting opportunities.

Lesser-known information and benefits about becoming an accredited Australian Sailing Instructor provide an additional incentive to an individual thinking about taking up this role.

• There is an established, set framework covering all 6 programs; Tackers, OutThere Sailing, Dinghy, Windsurfing, Keelboat & Powerboat providing clear, consistent courses backed up by instructor access to a suite of resources to help them deliver the program, including run sheets, checklists, syllabus, certificates, and videos etc.
• Instructor liability insurance and the Discover Sailing Centre public liability insurance
• Annual Instructor Conferences are offered for Instructors to receive ongoing learning, networking, and development
• Instructors are recognised by Discover Sailing Centres and customers as having achieved a high standard, and are likely to deliver a positive experience and service that fulfills their customers’ expectations
• Instructors are promoted on the AS website via a search facility, which helps employment opportunities

There is no doubt however that becoming an instructor is not easy. As with any career or job opportunity it is up to the individual to put in the time, effort, and money to gain a qualification and find work.  Being a current member of a sailing club and putting up your hand to offer support is a good starting point and the club may even be open to providing you with support to gain the qualification in return. Here are some facts about the requirements for becoming and continuing as an instructor.

• Becoming an Australian Sailing qualified Instructor, maintaining currency and reaccrediting the qualification is the responsibility of the individual, although clubs can/should provide support
• The process for becoming/reaccrediting a qualified Instructor involves;
  • Attaining the required pre-requisites
  • Attending & paying for the appropriate AS training course
  • Passing the course criteria
• If an instructor runs Tackers or OutThere Sailing, there are some additional endorsements to be completed online
• Maintaining currency in the qualification includes;
  • Keeping prerequisites up to date in their MySailor profile i.e. first aid certificate
  • Attending an Instructor Conference
  • Reaccreditation is required every 5 years
• Having a qualification in more than one program does not incur more than the one annual Instructor renewal fee
• An Australian Sailing qualified Instructor, predominantly, works at a sailing club that is a Discover Sailing Centre and runs the Learn To Sail Programs
• A qualified Instructor does NOT have to work exclusively for one Discover Sailing Centre 

Becoming an accredited instructor opens up a pathway for working in sailing so that you can progress through to different roles with different responsibilities. It should be noted that there is no set rule as to where an individual should join the instructor pathway. It could be that an individual has come into the sport at an older age and so, depending on their skills and ability and the course parameters, they could start at Instructor or Sailing Coach, not Assistant Instructor.

• • Assistant Instructor
  • Instructor
  • Senior Instructor
  • Chief Instructor
  • Sailing Coach

Once an instructor is engaged within one or several clubs, as well as the general instructor pathway, there could be other opportunities of interest to stay involved in the sailing community.

• • Officiating
  • Volunteering
  • Sailing Administration

To find out more information about becoming accredited with Australian Sailing click here

To view and register for an Australian Sailing Instructor or Sailing Coach course please CLICK HERE.

Links to further resources:

Instructor & Coaches Pathways Document

Insurance

Instructor Resources

MySailor Login

Online Learning