Ovington thingy.....

Her indoors got her first glance of the c2 at the Dinghy Show and that heavily influenced her decision to go ahead and get one.  No being there would be crazy, especially if you're trying to promote yourself as an important and growing class.  Nothing says 'failing' so loudly as a no show.

Class training is the task of the class association, not the RYA.  I wonder how many members of the CA are even members of the RYA?   So far as I know a CA is entitled to one day's coaching per year from an RYA coach.  Have you looked into that?  Have you looked at getting your own members trained as Race Coaches?  

The squad system is there for those who are interested in getting the best possible coaching to improve their sailing, and for the RYA to discover potential Olympic talent.  The six squad sailors in my club know they probably aren't going to be Olympic rock stars, but they do know that's where the best chance of getting quality coaching lies.  They use the system as much as the system uses them, believe you me.   It tends to be the paretns who are the most misguided about where their kids are headed; the kids themselves are under no illusions.  They see the turnover and the stats, but they're having fun so they don't care.  If they drop out later it's usually because they can't bear the weight of parental expectation or disappointment.

Entry to the squad system is open to all, and having talent is not necessarily the greatest requirement; the coaches are far more interested in those with dedication, commitment and the right attitude.  This means they want the sailors whose boats are ready, who turn up on time, who listen and ask questions, who get fit and work hard. 

Class Association training is different in that it is, and should be, open to all who turn up in that class.  Largely the people attending simply want to improve their sailing in that type of boat, maybe for fun or maybe to win an event or two.  Most class members consider this more than adequate for their needs, in fact many won't turn up to training at all.  They don't want to work any harder at their sailing because they are in it for fun, for the social life and because they don't want to take it too seriously.  If they did they would employ a coach or join a squad.

AIUI- the Dinghy Show is heavily subsidised by the RYA, any class claiming to be truly active then not attending seems a bit of a snub to me.  

Having a stand at the Dinghy Boat Show costs nearly 500 quid. Mostly its members who come to the stand and want to talk about new ideas such as the Bridle etc. Or its people who have already made up their minds that they want one and make inquiries about the 2nd hand market, or CII versus Classic or Standard rig. It appears that our Web Site, which is now fixed thanks to Olwen, is our main advertising vehicle. The people who email or ring with inquiries about the Byte find contact details here. So the Byte Class in the UK is far from defunct and made a respectable appearance at the Ovi-Inlands last weekend.

Not at the dinghy show = dead class IMHO.