April 24 Combined - Flipbook - Page 41
Sport Hayling Herald
Generous donation means free sailing
lessons for children at Thursday Club
By Michael Massey from Hayling
Island Sailing Club
RETURNING for its 19th year and
held at Hayling Island Sailing Club
the HISC Community Youth Sailing Scheme, which is known as the
Thursday Club, continues to offer
a fantastic introduction to sailing
and paddleboarding.
Thanks to a very generous donation, we have been able to purchase
new sailing kit and boats to enable
even more youngsters to enjoy the
water. All sailing clothing, buoyancy
aids and kit are available to borrow
for each session for anyone without
kit of their own.
The Club is open to anyone aged
eight – 18 and the only requirement
is that they can swim 25 metres
unaided. The weekly format has not
changed and has been a fantastic
success especially with those youngsters, and there are many, who are
initially wary of the water.
Safety and having fun are our
priorities and everything we do is
undertaken strictly to RYA guidelines and all youngsters can, and do,
work towards RYA certification.
For many who have joined us, it
became a life changer, whether with
a growth in their confidence and
self-esteem, or for some, developing
such a passion for on water activity
they asked to become young instructors at the Thursday Club.
Many have done just that, initially qualifying as Assistant Dinghy
Instructors, with some going on
to become Dinghy Instructors and
even Senior Instructors. ‘I wanted to
give something back,’ is a phrase we
often hear.
This in turn is appreciated by the
new youngsters they are teaching.
As has always been the case there
is no fixed charge but a donation of
£3 per child each session is appreciated. The Thursday Club is run
solely by volunteers and not funded
by the sailing club.
Young sailors in action at Thursday Club
The first session of Thursday Club
is on Thursday, May 9th. We continue with two one-hour sessions for
this year with the first for beginners
starting at 4.15pm and the second
starting at 5.30pm, concentrating on
more experienced sailors.
This year the Thursday Club will
be open, weather permitting, on every Thursday until July. We will not
be open in August but will have two
final sessions in September along
with our annual prize-giving tea.
Full dates are below and as usual
we ask that all sessions are prebooked to ensure we have sufficient
helpers, and that everyone arrives in
plenty of time.
The planned dates are May 9th,
MOT Servicing Repairs Diagnostics
16th, 23rd, 30th, June 6th, 13th,
20th, 27th, July 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th,
September 5th, 12th, with the prizegiving tea on September 19th.
For full details and joining instructions please email Xan Carr at
hiscthursdayclub@gmail.com.
Additional information can be
found on the HISC Thursday Club
facebook page.
Alternatively, visit the club
website at hisc.co.uk/youth-sailing/
thursday-club
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Tel: 02392 465565
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www.heronsautos.co.uk
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