QLD - Mooloolaba Yacht Club

Mooloolaba Yacht Club

Commodore:  Gary Schulz

Key contact:  Suzanne Mabbott - mooloolabayachtclub@bigpond.com

What SheSails activities does your club run?
We run a women’s skill development program along with a youth program on Elliott6 keelboats and a Women’s Helm Series on Keelboats.

How did you initiate the activities?
We won a Sport and Recreation grant for women’s participation two years ago which allowed us to pay two coaches to run Level 1 and Level 2 skills development programs using club’s Elliott6 keelboats for six months. That program is now run by volunteer coaches and mentors.

What have the results of the activities been?
We have had an increase in women sailing in club sailing events across the week, as well as increased participants in women’s regattas such as the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta, Townsville Yacht Club GaLS Regatta, Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship and the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club’s SheSails Open Regatta.

Did you have any challenges along the way?
One of the biggest challenges faced was the mixed abilities of the women who wanted to sail, from those who wanted to learn to sail up to those who were already sailing. To overcome this, we were able to use of a number of experienced mentors from the club to assist in the training. We are still experiencing growing pains which will need to be addressed, such as limited funding and having enough instructors/coaches and volunteers to assist.

How do you promote your activities?
MYC Website and Facebook, Weekly Club eNews, QLD She Sails Networking Group, word of mouth

What resources did you require?
Mooloolaba Yacht Club has four Elliott6 keelboats and two safety boats including a RIB which we were able to use. There were also two Instructors/mentors, one Safety Boat Driver and one administration person.

 What impact is it having on participation at your club?
According to the last SheSails Female Club Membership Benchmark, Mooloolaba Yacht Club was listed at 27% which is a huge increase. From a base of only 2 or 3 women actively sailing a few years ago we now have over 20.