Something for Everyone Fostering inclusivity


Northampton Sailability has been a training centre since 2000 and operates as a fully integrated RYA training and Sailability centre for people with and without disabilities. Currently the committee includes a high proportion of sailors with a disability and around 25% of the instructional team have a disability. Jenny Jeffs, RYA Coach and a founding member of the centre, explains how offering opportunities for disabled sailors can be part of everyday operations.


P


rogressing through the RYA schemes and considering becoming an Assistant Instructor is just what happens here, whether a member has a disability or not. We have a variety of boats including Access


dinghies, Longboats, a Sport 16, Laser 2000, Challenger, Martin 16, Topaz and Pico and have to make few adaptations. In fact, I would say the most important adaptation is attitude. When any new sailor joins, we listen, discuss what they want to


achieve and avoid making assumptions. Some of our able bodied volunteers don’t want to capsize and so prefer the keelboats, while some sailors with reduced mobility want the excitement and risk of going out in a boat which could capsize. Some blind sailors like to sail with another person in the boat, while others prefer to sail on their own with a buddy boat for visual assistance. Not everyone takes to sailing, but this is not down to disability – it’s just because people are different. Some sailors are happy to stop at Level 1 or 2 while others want to try more boats, fly spinnakers, go yachting and sail elsewhere. Again these lines are not drawn on grounds of disability - people simply look for different ways to find relaxation, excitement or challenge. Together our job is to provide a delightful pick and mix of sailing


opportunities so every member can find the fun, challenge and experience they are looking for. For those who want to train as an Assistant Instructor, we require them to


have completed RYA Seamanship Skills in the type of boat they plan to teach, and to have tuition on RYA schemes, the Sailability award scheme, the RYA Method, learning styles and safeguarding etc. Once qualified, the Assistant Instructors are carefully matched to students by the Senior Instructor. Here is what a few of our Assistant Instructors have to say about their role at Northampton Sailability:


Meg: Assistant Instructor with an acquired brain injury “I enjoy feeling useful and doing something that is like work and has responsibility. I like getting to know the sailors and how their disability affects them so I can pitch the lesson at the right level. Their smiles and giggles show me that I have given them a special experience.”


M w i


“ s


Michelle: Sailor and volunteer for 10 years “I like taking people out and teaching them knots and so on. It has been great for my confidence. I am an Assistant Instructor and comp crew. I love yachting and want to do more.”


www.rya.org.uk


Emma: Blind sailor who teaches sighted and visually impaired sailors “When I am teaching sighted sailors I have to use what they need to suit their learning style. I also need them to give me visual assistance so we communicate distance and direction by using the clock face. I have lots of techniques which I can share with other instructors so they can enhance their teaching of visually impaired sailors.”


Barbara: Assistant Instructor with rheumatoid arthritis “When it was suggested that I became an Assistant Instructor, my first reaction was “who me?”. As I sat down and looked at the skills I had gained and realized that perhaps I could take on the role. We had new members coming with just the same apprehension that I had on my first visit, so I was in a good position to give them insight into what they could achieve. When I joined I thought I was just going to learn to sail but it has given me so much more.”


Roger: Assistant Instructor with multiple sclerosis. “Becoming an Assistant Instructor means I can pass on my knowledge and enthusiasm to other new sailors, giving them encouragement and confidence to gain qualifications as I did. To take someone out on the water and see their nervousness change to confidence is brilliant!”


Christine: Disabled sailor and Assistant Instructor “We are all treated equally and participate as fully as possible. Opportunities are based on individual ability, demonstrated by the fact that disabled members can become Assistant Instructors. I was initially hesitant but I have come to believe that it demonstrates the ethos of the club by showing that volunteers can learn from disabled members just as much as members can from volunteers.”


Andy: Assistant Instructor who was injured in a skiing accident “I enjoy helping with training and showing people the ropes. It is very rewarding, especially when an accident or illness has left someone searching for new activities. The look on people’s faces when they find themselves sailing the boat and enjoying themselves is priceless!”


| 15


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17