Statement from BHCCA

I have been asked to post the following statement from the BHCCA:

On behalf of the BHCCA Committee, I would like to make public our view on 
the recent history of the Junior/Youth Multihull Programme, and how we see the 
way forward.

It is greatly to the credit of the RYA that they have succeeded in driving 
a massive expansion of sailing at both Junior and Youth levels, building in most 
cases on the foundation of already established classes such as the Optimists, 
Toppers and 420's.

The very success of this programme, which has created very strong brand 
images for the monohull classes, and defined a very clear pathway into Olympic 
sailing, created a serious problem for the fledgling Multihull Programme, which 
struggled to convince monohull sailors to convert from a very familiar and well 
understood discipline to a very unfamiliar and poorly understood one.

For a time, a combination of sailors from "multihull families", and sailors 
who were encouraged to convert from the monohull classes by the RYA, kept 
numbers at a small but effective level. When the RYA cut the size of the Youth 
Squad, and ceased to actively encourage monohull sailors to convert, numbers 
began inexorably to decline.

This caused an immediate problem, as the numbers of supportive parents also 
declined, leading to difficulty in maintaining an active programme. Some 
extremely committed, hard-working and talented parents have done an immense 
amount to keep things going, but we are struggling to expand from the current 
low base. 

The BHCCA Committee has tried to analyse what has happened and to learn 
from it, and to find a realistic way to move forward.

It is very easy to be wise after the event, and we certainly don't want to 
criticise any of those involved, but in retrospect a number of strategic errors 
were made at the time the Programme was set up:

1   the Junior/Youth Programme was a stand-alone national initiative, and 
the opportunity to 
     develop a parallel club-level programme was not available;

2   the major catamaran clubs were not encouraged to train children to sail 
catamarans from
     an early age;

3   the programme relied for recruitment largely on sailors converting from 
monohulls, and
     when this failed to happen, for the reasons discussed above, there 
were not enough 
     existing young multihull sailors to sustain it in the long term.

While the Programme was very successful in developing sailors with 
medal-winning capabilities, it was not very well integrated into the 
general multihull sailing scene, and as a result failed to attract the 
whole-hearted support of the rest of the multihull community. 

We believe that the basis for developing a successful Junior/Youth 
Programme must lie in the multihull community taking responsibility for 
developing it's own young sailors by training them to sail multihulls from an 
early age. Initially this would take place at club level, with beginner and 
development training taking place in a local programme, and higher level 
training being offered either locally or in a national pathway leading to a 
national squad, depending on the motivation and potential of individual sailors. 

We are are aware that many young sailors drop out of the sport at 18+, as 
they go into work or higher education, and eventually we would like to see the 
class associations running their own transitional programmes to support sailors 
making the difficult move into adult multihull sailing.   

A very small number of sailors will qualify for the Olympic programme, and 
while we should give them our maximum support, we should also ensure that all 
young multihull sailors have goals to which they can aspire, and which 
will motivate and challenge them, and encourage them to continue their sailing 
careers.  

We believe we should move to a new, and inclusive Junior and Youth 
Programme as soon as possible, with the following proposed structure:

1     monohull:    start to sail:      clubs:                  
 training:                            8-12

2     multihull:     beginners:        clubs:               training    
:                          8-12

3     multihull:     development:    clubs:               coaching and  
racing:        10- 14

4     multihull:     high-level:         clubs:               coaching and 
racing:        12-18 

         multihull:     high-level:          national:             coaching and  
racing:        12- 18  

5     multihull:     transitional:      class assns:     
support:                            18-21

       multihull:      Olympic:          RYA:               Olympic   
programme        18- 

The Programme needs to be simple, coherent and easily understood by young 
sailors and parents. It should aim to deliver the highest possible standard of 
training and coaching at every level. It requires a strong image, a high-profile 
sponsor if possible, and RYA branding to give parents an assurance of 
quality.

To make the Programme a success will require the co-operation of all the 
catamaran sailing organisations, and the commitment of many individual multihull 
sailors, who will be needed to support training and coaching activities within 
their own clubs. 

The BHCCA is committed to help in the development of such a Programme, and 
is ready to play it's part by delivering high-level coaching nationally for 
those young sailors who wish to take this route. We will also make our 
experience in attracting young sailors into multihull sailing through Cat Intro 
Days etc available to the Programme.

We recognise that it will take some time for the Programme to begin 
producing significant numbers of young multihull sailors, but the sooner 
it commences operation the sooner it will start to deliver results.

David Scarfe

Chairman
British Hobie Catamaran Class Association   

NB

The Junior/Youth Programme has never sought to "steal" sailors who are 
active in the other Junior and Youth classes. It has tried to offer an 
alternative path for sailors who are naturally coming to the end of their time 
in their current class, and who are considering which class to move into at the 
next level.    

Edited by Worthy

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Worthy Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Dec 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 511	Post Options Post Reply Quote Worthy Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Statement from BHCCA Posted: 04 Nov 07 at 9:33pm
	I have been asked to post the following statement from the BHCCA: On behalf of the BHCCA Committee, I would like to make public our view on the recent history of the Junior/Youth Multihull Programme, and how we see the way forward. It is greatly to the credit of the RYA that they have succeeded in driving a massive expansion of sailing at both Junior and Youth levels, building in most cases on the foundation of already established classes such as the Optimists, Toppers and 420's. The very success of this programme, which has created very strong brand images for the monohull classes, and defined a very clear pathway into Olympic sailing, created a serious problem for the fledgling Multihull Programme, which struggled to convince monohull sailors to convert from a very familiar and well understood discipline to a very unfamiliar and poorly understood one. For a time, a combination of sailors from "multihull families", and sailors who were encouraged to convert from the monohull classes by the RYA, kept numbers at a small but effective level. When the RYA cut the size of the Youth Squad, and ceased to actively encourage monohull sailors to convert, numbers began inexorably to decline. This caused an immediate problem, as the numbers of supportive parents also declined, leading to difficulty in maintaining an active programme. Some extremely committed, hard-working and talented parents have done an immense amount to keep things going, but we are struggling to expand from the current low base. The BHCCA Committee has tried to analyse what has happened and to learn from it, and to find a realistic way to move forward. It is very easy to be wise after the event, and we certainly don't want to criticise any of those involved, but in retrospect a number of strategic errors were made at the time the Programme was set up: 1 the Junior/Youth Programme was a stand-alone national initiative, and the opportunity to develop a parallel club-level programme was not available; 2 the major catamaran clubs were not encouraged to train children to sail catamarans from an early age; 3 the programme relied for recruitment largely on sailors converting from monohulls, and when this failed to happen, for the reasons discussed above, there were not enough existing young multihull sailors to sustain it in the long term. While the Programme was very successful in developing sailors with medal-winning capabilities, it was not very well integrated into the general multihull sailing scene, and as a result failed to attract the whole-hearted support of the rest of the multihull community. We believe that the basis for developing a successful Junior/Youth Programme must lie in the multihull community taking responsibility for developing it's own young sailors by training them to sail multihulls from an early age. Initially this would take place at club level, with beginner and development training taking place in a local programme, and higher level training being offered either locally or in a national pathway leading to a national squad, depending on the motivation and potential of individual sailors. We are are aware that many young sailors drop out of the sport at 18+, as they go into work or higher education, and eventually we would like to see the class associations running their own transitional programmes to support sailors making the difficult move into adult multihull sailing. A very small number of sailors will qualify for the Olympic programme, and while we should give them our maximum support, we should also ensure that all young multihull sailors have goals to which they can aspire, and which will motivate and challenge them, and encourage them to continue their sailing careers. We believe we should move to a new, and inclusive Junior and Youth Programme as soon as possible, with the following proposed structure: 1 monohull: start to sail: clubs: training: 8-12 2 multihull: beginners: clubs: training : 8-12 3 multihull: development: clubs: coaching and racing: 10- 14 4 multihull: high-level: clubs: coaching and racing: 12-18 multihull: high-level: national: coaching and racing: 12- 18 5 multihull: transitional: class assns: support: 18-21 multihull: Olympic: RYA: Olympic programme 18- The Programme needs to be simple, coherent and easily understood by young sailors and parents. It should aim to deliver the highest possible standard of training and coaching at every level. It requires a strong image, a high-profile sponsor if possible, and RYA branding to give parents an assurance of quality. To make the Programme a success will require the co-operation of all the catamaran sailing organisations, and the commitment of many individual multihull sailors, who will be needed to support training and coaching activities within their own clubs. The BHCCA is committed to help in the development of such a Programme, and is ready to play it's part by delivering high-level coaching nationally for those young sailors who wish to take this route. We will also make our experience in attracting young sailors into multihull sailing through Cat Intro Days etc available to the Programme. We recognise that it will take some time for the Programme to begin producing significant numbers of young multihull sailors, but the sooner it commences operation the sooner it will start to deliver results. David Scarfe Chairman British Hobie Catamaran Class Association NB The Junior/Youth Programme has never sought to "steal" sailors who are active in the other Junior and Youth classes. It has tried to offer an alternative path for sailors who are naturally coming to the end of their time in their current class, and who are considering which class to move into at the next level. Edited by Worthy

Chris 249 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 10 May 04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2041	Post Options Post Reply Quote Chris 249 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Nov 07 at 8:52pm
	Outstanding stuff! Well done BHCCA and let's hope that this can become a model for cats in other countries. Edited by Chris 249

markp Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Groupie Joined: 14 Jun 06 Location: Mumbles Y.C Online Status: Offline Posts: 85	Post Options Post Reply Quote markp Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Nov 07 at 8:19pm
	This could definitely be the way forward and I would be more than happy to introduce and train young Multihull sailors at my Club. It's just a shame I would have to pay the RYA to become a Dinghy Instructor, then be assessed for Multihulls and then probably pay the RYA again for Powerboat level 2 training and certificate. After recent events this goes against the grain slightly. However, we have been discussing the virtues of purchasing a Cat specifically for introducing teenagers and young adults to sailing in order to fill a generation gap which currently exists at my Club. At present adult training in Wayfarers appears to be putting more people off sailing rather than increasing Club membership and peoples enjoyment of the Sport. Therefore, I'm quite confident that should the Club buy a Cat for this purpose then peoples perspective of sailing will change and I'll have to brush up on my Monohull sailing skills in order to become a qualified instructor. That would be fun (not)
	MP*MULTIHULLS The UK F16 Dealer http://www.mp-multihulls.co.uk

SoggyDoggie Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 10 Jan 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 30	Post Options Post Reply Quote SoggyDoggie Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 08 Nov 07 at 10:18pm
	It is interesting the bit about how the RYA sees the Optimist, 420, and Topper, all of which our cadets perceive as naff. The progression in my (successful) club is Picos, Fevas and they all aspire to sailing MPS's. We also have cat fleets, but there isn't a junior cat class. I think it has been pointed out, on another thread, that it is difficult for designers to scale-down a catamaran for children. We tried the Hobie Catsy but it was a flop. We are now looking at the possibilty of using the Sprint 15 as the two-up training boat for cadets.
	Soggy Doggie