RQYS MAINSHEET 2023

Academy insights

RQYS is a sum of many moving parts, many perhaps unnoticed by Members not actively involved outside their particular passions and interests but, behind the smattering of red-shirted youngsters wearing ‘Coach’ or ‘Instructor’ lies a huge undertaking of highly disclipined, accredited responsibility for teaching skills and safety on the water. Training tomorrow’s champions today Our Squadron’s rich Olympic heritage is passed to each new generation to inspire dreams, or learn and have fun!

The three dozen or so ‘redshirts’ and four full- and part-time RQYS Academy staff are under the auspices of Head Coach Adrian Finglas, who says that “we bat above our weight here, in terms of the contribution to the activities and overall business of the Club, but we just get on with it quietly on the side of things.” And the scope of Academy activities is truly eye-opening (see table on page 46): across more than 30 courses, classes and recreational or educational sessions in the 12 months since the last Mainsheet, almost 3,000 people — aged from Year 2 school students to retirees — have not only discovered our Squadron but also its diverse range of watersport pathways. This includes nearly 1,200 participants in accredited Australian Sailing courses ranging from an introduction to Tackers or a keelboat discovery program up to elite schools coaching and powerboat handling. For many of the redshirts — often university students, like ‘Radioceans’ band guitarist and electrical engineering undergraduate Scotty Luxton — “it’s their first touchpoint with the workforce,” says Adrian, “and a huge responsibility, with many new skillsets to be learned for onwater safety. “They have to get their First Aid certificate, a Blue Card check, their Powerboat Licence and Handling Certificate, and then their Australian Sailing qualifications in dinghy sailing, keelboats and/or other classes as well: it’s a huge commitment for them.”

Having this flexibility is crucial for Adrian and the office team (Mel, Dom and Josie) when it comes to rostering the redshirts each week — their availability is but one part of an intricate office juggling act — where qualifications, personalities and skills are best aligned to the different groups and ages of the keen sailors. Saturdays begin at 0800 in the Academy briefing room, with the day’s key topics listed on the whiteboard and addressed in turn by Adrian and the office team. After a review of the weather and conditions, some key points are emphasised to the relaxed but attentive group. These might cover child safety, and a reminder of the importance of language or when it’s okay to make physical contact (child overboard, yes; needing a band-aid for a minor scrape, or a pat of encouragement, definitely not).

That personal and financial investment at such a young age exemplifies a passion for not only the sports of sailing, windsurfing and foiling but also a strong desire to learn to teach, share knowledge and experience in almost a peergroup-relatable way. “On a typical Saturday, for example,” adds Adrian, “we might have 100 to 120 kids onsite, registered for everything from Optis to Lasers and Nacras, at different stages on their path, their groups covered by between 15 and 20 staff — it’s a big operation.” Many of the team hold multiple tickets for teaching on different types of watercraft and different levels of their own, accredted capabilities: ‘Instructors’ for instance, must work within the Australian Sailing syllabus whereas ‘Coaches’ are allowed more latitude to teach outside the guidelines.

Mainsheet 2023

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Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook