The Hubbards Sailing Club offers Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) standardized Learn to Sail Programs for all ages.

2012 Registration and Waiver forms coming soon!

Spring Tune Up Sessions:  Dates TBA

2012 LTS Program Dates:  July 2, 2012 to August 24, 2012

Fall Sessions:  Dates TBA

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Sailing & Coaching Certification

The Nova Scotia Yachting Association (NSYA) under the umbrella of the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) administers all coaching and sailing programs, including certifications.

Sailing certifications offered by the NSYA encompass the full scale of sailing skills. Wet feet/ Opti; introductory White sail levels I, II & III; Bronze IV & V; Learn-to-Race; Silver VI & Gold VII and Olympic level High Performance Athletes. Hubbards Yacht Club is pleased to once again offer a Learn to Race level however does not have the infrastructure to offer Gold VII and Olympic levels at this time. 

Coaching certifications offered by the NYSA cover the full spectrum of coaching including Novice Green, Intermediate Blue, Learn-to-Race Blue, Competitive Race Orange, and High Performance Yellow. We encourage and assist our coaches to upgrade their coaching certification and for the first time ever HYC will be covering the full cost of upgrading our coaching staff. 

The CYA’s training model for all Learn-to-Sail programs provide safe and standardized instruction and coaching for both recreation and competition in sailing dinghies. We employ fully the CYA model in all our coaching and training activities and practices. Additional information is available on the CYA website.

Sailing Classifications

Wet Feet/ Opti, Opti Race and Whitesail Levels I, II & III are the introductory levels. In recognition of the large number of beginning sailors throughout the sailing season, HYC has dedicated a new coaching position.  The added benefit to those sailors who have already learned the basic skills is that they can continue to develop their skills with uninterrupted instruction.

A nother new addition to the 2011 programming will be the ‘Opti Race Level’. This will allow those more advanced Opti Sailors to focus on more advanced sailing techniques including race training to better prepare them for participation in the regatta’s that include an Opti class.

These levels cover safety, seamanship and boat handling in winds to 16-km/h velocities. The optimist green fleet is incorporated into our White sail program and is designed for novice Learn-to-Race sailors. Junior racers are coached in racing skills and encouraged to attend optimist regattas to become familiar with the entire regatta experience. This allows them to transition into advanced competitive sailing once they master the basic sailing skills taught in the Whitesail courses. The emphasis of the green fleet is to provide a ‘fun to learn’ regatta environment.

White Sail Coaches are trained to teach basic sailing skills to beginner participants and are authorized to award the White Sail I, II, and III sailor levels when registered for the current year. White Sail coaches who also complete the Wet Feet and Opti professional development modules are also authorized to run these specific programs geared towards younger sailors.

Bronze Sail Levels IV & V are levels where sailors are introduced to advanced sailing techniques and skills, including sail trim, boat tuning, boat maintenance, trapezing and the use of the spinnaker. After completing the bronze standards sailors are competent in winds up to 25-km/h.

Bronze Sail Coaches are trained to teach intermediate sailing skills to more advanced participants, and are authorized to award Bronze Sail IV and V sailor levels, when registered for the current year.

Learn to Race is part of the Silver VI level where the sailors learn all the race rules including how to race respectfully. Sailors are also given pointers on what to do when starting a race, during a race, and finishing a race. They will also learn race theory to become more familiar with all aspects of competitive sailing.

Learn to Race Coach program has been designed to introduce racing to young athletes while at the same time encouraging them in a fun environment.

Competitive Based Education & Training (CBET)

CBET, introduced by the CYA in 2003, facilitated on-the-water, interactive and hands-on process for transferring knowledge. We are very pleased with our CBET results to date, in particular the noticeable improvement in learned skills retention. Coaches prepare daily lesson plans and present these plans each morning, in the classroom, to their group of sailors. The group is then moved on the water for the remainder of the day where sailors learn skills and techniques employing hands on coaching. Coaches make on the water observations and evaluations from which progress reports are prepared. 

Four key improvements resulting in CBET:

• Written tests not used for evaluation of sailors
• Sailor assessment based on demonstrated skills
• Emphasizes on-the-water training
• First day assessment (by certified coach) allows student to enter programs without prior CYA levels

 Safety

Our club will be following the guidelines in place by the CYA and NSYA to ensure all precautions are taken to provide a safe sailing environment for our young sailors.

Instructor Clinics

NSYA is planning CYA Instructors Clinics this Spring to train new instructors and upgrade existing. Visit the NSYA website {http://www.nsya.ns.ca/} for an update on the new Learn-to-Sail instructors’ program. 

Special Olympics

The Hubbards Sailing Club Special Olympics sailing program is available for youth with special needs that want to enjoy a sailing experience. Contact HSC for additional information. 

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