Club news - Tamworth Sailing Club

Tamworth Sailing Club volunteer recognised by the RYA

Alex - lifetime commitment A Tamworth Sailing Club member has had their inspirational volunteer endeavours recognised by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal at the 2022 RYA Volunteer Awards in London.

Helen Elson received an RYA Outstanding Contribution Award for her commitment and services to boating at grassroots level.

Helen joined Tamworth Sailing Club in 2004 and has been the driving force behind Super Sailors, the junior club, for many years, helping youngsters to gain confidence on the water through games and fun activities. She also delivers formal, but fun, junior training, guiding youngsters through the RYA stages. As the youngsters grow and develop, she encourages them to become volunteer helpers and then instructors.

She volunteered to become Chief Instructor in late 2021, taking responsibility for delivering the club’s programme of adult courses too. She is also club Welfare Officer as well as one of its Social Secretaries. The club’s annual gala day would not be the same without her games, which normally involve a lot of dressing up, team race challenges, water pistol fights and knot work.

Helen is one of the most caring, fun-loving people in the club and her boundless, almost childlike enthusiasm for sailing draws people in. She passes on that enthusiasm to new and existing members, often at the expense of her own sailing time.

For more information about the RYA Volunteer Awards visit www.rya.org.uk/go/RYAVolunteerAwards

2022-2023 Committee elected

Thank you to Sandra for completing her tenure as Commodore 2021-22 and congratulations to Peter on being elected as Commodore for the forthcoming year.

2021-2022 Committee elected

Thank you to Paula for completing her tenure as Commodore 2020-21 and congratulations to Sandra on being elected as Commodore for the forthcoming year.

2020-2021 Committee elected

Thank you to Adrian for completing his tenure as Commodore 2019-20 and congratulations to Paula on being elected as Commodore for the forthcoming year.

2019-2020 Committee elected

Thank you to Dominic for completing his tenure as Commodore 2018-19 and congratulations to Adrian on being elected as Commodore for the forthcoming year.

Bart’s Bash 2018

Tamworth Sailing Club, based at Kingsbury Water Park, took part in Bart’s Bash and a Guinness World Record attempt on Sunday 16th September. Bart’s Bash is an annual charity race in memory of Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, a double Olympic medallist in sailing, who tragically died while training for the America’s Cup in 2013.

The race took place in hundreds of venues across the UK and in other countries. The 2018 event saw an attempt on the world record for the largest number of sailors taking part in a sailing race. Money raised goes to the Andrew Simpson Foundation Trust, which aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people and increase participation in sailing. This year, donations were going towards a cardiac defibrillator for the club.

The club had 28 members taking part, the youngest being 6 years old. It was a windy day at Kingsbury and there were lots of thrills, spills and chills!

New members are always welcome.

2018-2019 Committee elected

Thank you to Darren for completing his tenure as Commodore 2017-18 and congratulations to Dominic on being elected as Commodore for the forthcoming year.

2017-2018 Committee elected

Thank you to Mitesh for completing his tenure as Commodore 2016-17 and congratulations to Darren on being elected as Commodore for the forthcoming year.

Tamworth Sailing Club takes delivery of 5 brand new Toppers

Thanks to a £10,000 grant from Sport England we have taken delivery of five brand new race rigged Toppers to supplement our junior training fleet. The dinghies were put through their paces by our Super Sailors during the recent public open day and were a very impressive sight indeed.

The club has a very active juniors section with the numbers taking part growing significantly over the last few years and the new boats can only help to increase participation in sailing. At Tamworth Sailing Club we aim to encourage juniors to take up sailing as a sporting and a social activity. We have juniors who have chosen sailing for their Duke of Edinburgh award, either as part of their skills or physical sections. Ex-juniors have even returned to help out for their volunteering section. We also aim to encourage those juniors who want more competition to take part in club racing here and further afield. The new dinghies will help us to achieve these goals.

Tamworth Sailing Club volunteers recognised by the RYA

Alex - lifetime commitment Two Tamworth sailors had their inspirational volunteer endeavours recognised by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal at the annual RYA Volunteer Awards in London on Friday (20 November 2015).

Tamworth Sailing Club’s Alex Simpson was honoured with an RYA Lifetime Commitment award by sailing’s national governing body, which recognises individuals who have shown exceptional commitment and dedication to their club or organisation for at least 15 years, meanwhile his Tamworth clubmate John Biggs received an RYA Outstanding Contribution Award, for individuals who have made a significant volunteer contribution, either over a period of time or a ‘one-off’ effort.

A member of Tamworth Sailing Club for more than 30 years, Alex still sails each week. He is always on hand to meet and greet prospective new members at club open days and his sheer enthusiasm has been cited by many people as one reason they choose to join the club.

John - outstanding achievement John meanwhile, has been a significant influence at the club over his 12 years, as both Commodore and Chief Instructor. John reinvigorated Tamworth’s training schedule, helping many locals to prosper and become regular sailors, and he is a key member of the team that runs Tamworth’s junior club on Saturday mornings.

Duncan Truswell, RYA Sport Development Manager, said: “The RYA Volunteer Awards are our opportunity to say 'thank you’, on behalf of clubs and associations that affiliate to the RYA, to their volunteers, the people that really make a difference to help people get afloat. It’s our opportunity to take a bit of time out to appreciate the commitment these individuals make to the sport in helping people get afloat safely and enjoyably."