Student members of any BUSA-affiliated University Sailing Club to have access to discounted training courses across all of the Andrew Simpson Watersports Centres as individuals, along with further discounts for group bookings. With courses on offer from RYA Level 1 right up to Foiling Instructor endorsements, we hope that this will support students across a wide spectrum of experience levels.
Arising from our 2018-19 Sailor Survey, increasing support for non-racers and beginner development has been high on the BUSA agenda. Additionally, we received feedback that many students would like help to access instructor and coach training. Recognising the benefits that developing these areas could have for building university sailing clubs and the sport on a wider scale, we began looking for a like-minded organisation that could provide the commercial expertise to help us achieve this goal.
Set up in memory of Olympic sailor Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, the Andrew Simpson Foundation operates four watersports centres in the UK and abroad: Portland, Reading, Portsmouth and Lake Garda. Founded with the aim of facilitating wider participation in sailing and optimising the benefits that the sport can have for young people, the organisation aligns well with some of BUSAs priorities around sailor development.
As a not-for-profit provider, the money that the Andrew Simpson Watersports Centres make goes back into their charitable programmes helping young people to access the sport – potentially giving us more university sailors for the future. This alignment of objectives combined with their growing reputation as a leading provider of RYA training courses and instructor development made them a natural choice for BUSA to approach.
Following a period of discussions, we are delighted that the Andrew Simpson Foundation have formed a training partnership with BUSA for the coming year to help break down some of the barriers that students may face when accessing RYA courses.
Student members of any BUSA-affiliated University Sailing Club will have access to discounted training courses across all of the Andrew Simpson Watersports Centres as individuals, along with further discounts for group bookings. With courses on offer from RYA Level 1 right up to Foiling Instructor endorsements, we hope that this will support students across a wide spectrum of experience levels.
Current BUSA Development Officer, Joe Penhaul-Smith, will also be looking to organise group discounted instructor training for the 2019-20 academic year, subject to interest.
How do we get the discount?
All 2019-20 commodores of BUSA affiliated clubs will be emailed in the coming weeks with details around how to book courses and claim your BUSA discount, which can be shared with your University Sailing Club members.
For specific enquiries, please BUSA Committee , or contact us via any of our social media channels. See copy report.