Connections
Collaborate and align efforts with partners to create greater impact. Coming together for change
See how we’ve been making connections and helping others connect:
• Refined the reward partner scheme to ensure member benefits are exclusive, relevant and offer a meaningful thank you to members. Our most popular benefits of 2023 were the free tickets to the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show and to the Southampton International Boat Show.
• Joined 36 leading national governing bodies and environmental organisations to support an Outdoors For All manifesto, seeking to extend responsible access to more green and blue landscapes.
• The Coastwatchers Gathering 2023 was held in Scotland. It brought together a volunteer network to discuss how they can best support recreational activities afloat. RYA Scotland also held a training day for coastwatchers and other volunteers on responding to marine license referrals and consultations.
• Joined colleagues across the sector in calling for the Government to increase its funding offer to the Canal & River Trust. The Fund Britain’s Waterways coalition maintains that the real terms reduction of 40% represents a serious threat to the nation’s canal network and substantial risk to the freedom of navigation, and access to vital blue spaces and their biodiversity.
• In November 2023 and May 2024, a flotilla of boats delivered a visual and vocal message to the Palace of Westminster that funding cuts for our canals and rivers are unacceptable and damaging.
• A restructured series of conferences and development workshops entitled ‘RYA Connected’ ran during the final quarter of 2023, aimed at harnessing the power of the network to help RYA clubs and centres thrive. RYA Connected combines the former Affiliated Clubs Conferences and Sailability Conference with regional events supported by a series of online sessions.
In focus: Clean Water Sports Alliance What we did
In April 2024, the RYA jointly established the Clean Water Sports Alliance alongside the Angling Trust, British Rowing, British Triathlon, GB Outrigger, Paddle UK, and Swim England.
Across the seven organisations, the Clean Water Sports Alliance represents almost 450,000 members, elite athletes, and many more water users. Key priorities for the Alliance include further and faster action on pollution; action to enable people to make real-time informed choices about where and when to participate in water-based sports and activities; and recognition of all recreational water users across decision making and policy.
Why we did it
The Alliance aims to achieve healthy and nature-rich blue spaces across the UK for everyone to enjoy water sports. We believe that a failure to act on the issues that the Clean Water Sports Alliance has been created to raise awareness of is not acceptable. We must protect and improve our water for ourselves and for future generations.
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RYA Annual Strategic Report 2024
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