The Royal Yachting Association

There are many opportunities available for those interested in managerial positions within the watersports industry. These include working in commercial training centres, local authority centres, charitable trusts, voluntary groups, holiday companies or indeed sailing clubs with full time staff. 

All these groups will have slightly different requirements for their management staff, ranging from RYA coaching and instructing qualifications (eg. Senior Instructor, Yachtmaster® Instructor or Powerboat Instructor) to a degree, youth work or teaching qualification. Others may also require specific job related experience.

The role of watersports manager will involve many different skill sets ranging from instructing, coaching, programme planning, course organisation, recruitment, staffing, finance, budgeting, purchasing, maintenance, customer relations, bookings, sales, advertising, marketing, dealing with complaints and so on. In larger organisations you may have colleagues to assist you in some of these roles but in smaller ones you will need to be a jack of all trades.

It is often the variety of work which people find most enjoyable and by using the analogy of juggling, if you can manage to keep all those management balls in the air you will find the role very rewarding indeed.

For further information on university leisure management degrees or other courses of study contact UCAS (link above) or your nearest institute of higher education for advice.

Watersports management jobs are usually advertised in the major yachting magazines. Vacancies at local authority centres are often advertised through the TES (link above).