Statement from BHCCA
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Multihulls
Forum Name: Dinghy multihulls
Forum Discription: For those who prefer two (or more) hulls to one!
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3561
Printed Date: 25 Jun 25 at 11:35am
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Topic: Statement from BHCCA
Posted By: Worthy
Subject: Statement from BHCCA
Date Posted: 04 Nov 07 at 9:33pm
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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.
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Replies:
Posted By: Chris 249
Date 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. |
Posted By: markp
Date Posted: 07 Nov 07 at 8:19pm
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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 |
Posted By: SoggyDoggie
Date Posted: 08 Nov 07 at 10:18pm
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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 |