RYA Wokebomb

I think the recent Race and Ethinic Diparities Report has some relevance here. You can't just lump "ethnics" and diversity into one lump. On one hand it is a great ambition to give , for want of a better label, poor and underprivileged people an opportunity to go sailing but inner city unemployed youth and single mothers are   unlikely to be the bedrock of the future of sailing .Although some may, and good for them.
On the other hand, the tactics for getting an accountant of Indian origin to think of sailing rather than golf may be very different and may well involve sailing being more aspirational and elite.
A couple of Sikh doctor friends always drive silver Mercedes as it is considered very important to show that you have "made it".They would need to feel that a fireball in the driveway has the same cachet.

Originally posted by Sussex Lad How to get them interested? How do we get minorities through the door?

Stop thinking of them as 'minorities' for a start. The whole thing smacks of Patronising paternalism, people are just people and if we're lucky enough for one to walk through the door asking, then just be bothered to take interest.

Doesn't matter what shape or shade they are, sailing clubs can easily ignore all and any shape and shade if they're busy getting ready for a race or running one when someone comes up to the control box just as a bunch of lasers are approaching the line, they're going to get short shrift.

Think about it, we're all so pre occupied with doing it we really haven't got the time or interest to devote to newcomers.

Maybe we should set a day a week when we really only cater for beginners and new arrivals.

The problem is there really isn't any incentive, we can pretend there is, but really?

Which is why seriously clubs should have profit making schools attached to them, with the specific designation to teach people to actually do what we need them to do and not just to be taught sailing as nothing more than how to potter about in a boat.


Edited by iGRF - 05 Apr 21 at 4:01pm

Originally posted by Do Different I wonder if dinghy sailing in particular is too wedded to racing; no sooner is someone through the door than the talk is about "getting them racing". Looking at a couple of other outdoor activities (I'm also not so sure we should keep calling sailing a sport) the growth from an outsiders (mine) point of view is it the non competitive areas. Park runs are expressly not races although people obviously do set personal goals. Cycling has been growing for a while and went mad this last 12 months, I doubt many of the new participants are going straight into racing.

Yes but that gets back to the problem, teaching sailing as a sport, rather than a pastime and what is it the RYA is chasing I wonder?

Our problem isn't anything to do with diversity imv it's more due to the educational system of late and lack of promotion of competition for fear of creating 'more losers than winners', so we just get a general lack of aspirants, of all groups.

BTW.