Over the last couple of years, there's been something of a revolution in Team15, the RYA's junior windsurfing programme. With a proven track record of getting kids into racing pathways, T15 was doing a job. But those who didn't want to go into racing risked being lost to the sport altogether.

So in came new skills challenges, the chance for all clubs to attend T15's showcase event, the Champions Cup, and new instructor training and CPD opportunities so clubs and centres could really hone what they were delivering and, most importantly, make it sustainable.

The aim? To develop good core windsurfing skills in youngsters to inspire a lifelong love of the sport, whether they enjoy freestyle, slalom, racing, wave or a bit of everything. The result? Numbers increasing at the Champions Cup, which is also now part of the RYA UKWA National Windsurfing Championships, the Zone Championships and in Zone Squad applications, and new names winning the skills events. 

With this new impetus has come new clubs, including Burton SC in the T15 guise of 'The Foremark Flyers'. We caught up with the club's Team15 co-ordinator, Andrea Longley, to find out why and how they have done it.

Why did the club want to put windsurfing back on the agenda?

A couple of years ago we recognised windsurfing was a real potential growth area for adults and juniors. It’s a really large piece of water at Foremark Reservoir for the area so is great for windsurfing; we have an area that's generally quite sheltered, which is good for beginners, but as you go across the reservoir, the wind comes over the dam wall uninterrupted and is much cleaner and stronger. 

What did you need to kickstart junior windsurfing at the club?

In March last year we were fortunate to receive a £7,500 grant from the John Merricks Sailing Trust to help us buy six new Bic Beach boards, 11 rigs (from 2.5m to 5.5m) and a shoreside simulator. This enabled us to run some taster sessions and Start Windsurfing courses and launch a Friday evening windsurfing club so people had somewhere to take it further. Having sustained the club through 2016 with 3-5 juniors and 3-6 adults, we saw the juniors were improving so fast we had to challenge them to keep their interest, so we took one to compete at the Midlands Zone Championships. This was such a positive experience we realised the T15 interclub events would be the best way of providing this for all the juniors and encouraging more to join.

Was becoming a T15 club a complicated process?

Getting the JMST-funded kit was key, we couldn't have done it without that. The club then invested in a traiIer to store the boards and allocated space in the new hanger to store the fully rigged sails, allowing us to save time setting up. I needed to revalidate my instructor ticket, and as we didn’t have a windsurfing SI we had to pay one until I was able to gain my ticket. Getting safety cover was also important so parents and other members were encouraged to get their RYA Powerboat Level 2. There was a fair bit to put in place.

What support did you get from the RYA in this?

A lot. An experienced RYA coach ran a session at the club to help us prepare for the Zone Championships and the RYA lent us a Techno 293OD board for our sailor to compete. I went to the T15 CPD day in Leeds this year, which was very helpful in providing specific training and lots of ideas. We've had windsurfing instructor trainer, Tom Brooman, at the club supporting me in delivering the sessions, which the juniors were really appreciative of too. The RYA also helped me access my SI training course, supported us through the T15 application process and have committed to sending another T15 coach to the club this season.

How have you found the new skill elements?

If the wind is light it's perfect to work on the fun skills elements, but if it's stronger then everyone enjoys other sailing activities such as harness work and faster gybing and tacking, or challenging themselves with bigger kit to make the most of the wind. This is an area we need to improve on if I'm honest and I need more instructors so we can work on intermediate development with some sailors and spend time with the beginners too. We'd love to hear from any Midlands-based volunteer windsurfing instructors, who might need to increase their recorded coaching hours before their instructor ticket revalidation at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You attended your first T15 inter-club event at Glossop in May. How did the sailors find it?

There were a few logistical things to sort beforehand, like how to transport kit and people, timings, who could use what kit and how we could pack it all up after the Friday evening session. But once we were there we all loved it. Glossop were such friendly, professional and helpful hosts! We were pleased to find the fleets we chose for our competitors were about right as they were comfortably midtable, which was important for morale and motivation. Everyone is excited to go to Croft Farm next!

So where do you hope this goes now?

I’d like to take a few juniors to the Zone Championships and grow the team from three up to at least six. I'd like us to enter the Champions Cup too if we're able. I've tried to provide an investment free entry to windsurfing just so there is no significant barrier to starting. The Friday evening club is free for members and junior membership only costs £35 for the year. We’ve laid down some really positive roots for continuing to inspire, recruit and develop junior windsurfers through word of mouth and courses, so we’re hopeful by the end of this season we will have seen some encouraging growth in both numbers and skills.

Gareth says...

We know in the past Team15 has just not quite worked at a number of clubs and centres as the kids did not want to compete. This revolution should make it easier to get involved with T15 again so why not give it another look? 

Burton are showing if there is a windsurfing will there is a way. Team15 can start with just a handful of youngsters and the RYA support that's available to not only set up the programme but to then mentor and develop instructors in the clubs and centres is very good. 

If you're interested in knowing more about how your club could get involved contact Michelle Gent at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and dates for the 2017 Midlands T15 inter-club events can be found here - 2017 Midlands Interclubs Series