Irish Sailing Regional Development Officers

The Regional Development Team will help you deal with all aspects of running your club or training centre, from administration to participation and back again. Take a look at some of the initiatives and support they provide. Please don’t hesitate to contact them directly.

What do they do?

Irish Sailing has three Regional Development Officers on hand to help your organisation grow and develop and are available on the ground or online to meet with your organisation answer your questions, put you in touch with LSP’s and help source funding.

Funding advice, safeguarding matters, communication support, industry contacts, training advice, representations to local authorities, women in sport initiatives, inclusion and diversity sailing programmes, school sailing support, team racing charter fleet, cruising support and more – see below for more detail.

Support offered to clubs

• Update Irish Sailing database of club committee contacts
• Offering a yearly meeting with club committees
• Action solutions to any issues arising
• Provide advice directly to club on any funding, structural, planning issues arising
• Create awareness to management of any ongoing issues
• Ensure clubs are aware of online services provided to them by Irish Sailing
• Develop club clusters and encourage clubs to support each other
• Support offered to training and site support visits
• Support new or expanding Training Centres
• Encourage links between Training Centres and other Irish Sailing affiliated organisations
• Assist in development and delivery of Irish Sailing Training programmes

Funding

• Awareness of the National Sports Capital and Regional LSP funding programmes
• Develop connections between clubs and LSP’s where possible
• Link clubs with LSP training programmes
• Assist sourcing and advise on funding opportunities available
• Assist Clubs with funding applications

Local Authorities

• Develop relationships with key personnel in each Local Authority
• Monitor and input into all relevant legislation, regulations, and byelaws
• Promote water based amenity management strategy for use by Local Authorities
• Establish and develop relationships with Water Safety Co-ordinators
• Promote safe, sustainable and responsible participation programmes
• Promote & support coastal development for marine infrastructure
• Maintain communications & relations with area engineers

Participation Development Projects

• School Sailing – advise clubs & training centres on implementing school sailing projects
• Inclusion Sailing Programmes – support Clubs and Centres to become fully inclusive in all their activities, conduct accessible audits, provide inclusion training and promote initiatives such as Watersport Inclusion Games, The President’s Cup, Hansa & 2.4mR National Championships
• Diversity  – advise and support clubs & training centres in implementing  fully inclusive programme to facilitate minority groups such as women in sport, LGBT+ community, disadvantaged, traveller community  and ethnic minority groups
• Try Sailing – Promote and support national implementation to increase participation and membership
• Women at the Helm 20x20 – increase participation of women in Watersports through promotion and support of events, training courses, officials CPD, marketing and governance for women by 20%
• Cruising – promote coastline & coastal infrastructure provide users with infrastructural information
• Team Racing Fleet Dinghies - delivery, maintenance, management of distribution of 6 Firefly dinghies and provide coaching and training programmes to increase this aspect of sailing in Clubs
• Watersport Inclusion Games – to facilitate a show case event promoting the inclusiveness of Watersports to facilitate everyone to enjoy all the sports available no matter what ability they have

Communication / Promotion

• Web site and digital channels management
• Promotion and planning of events and in implementing initiatives
• Promoting Club and Centre programmes and initiatives through our network of social channels and media platforms nationwide
• Help and advise Clubs and Centres to develop their websites and social sites to promote sailing, windsurfing and powerboating

The Regional development Officers are here to support Irish Sailing Affiliated organisations and help make their voice heard.