What's on from the RYA at the RYA Dinghy Show 2013

The RYA stand at the RYA Dinghy Show © Paul Wyeth / RYA

Alongside the hundreds of exhibitors, boats, kit, talks and presentations taking place at this year's RYA Dinghy Show, in association with Yachts & Yachting and Suzuki, the RYA has a whole host of events taking place throughout the weekend (2-3 March).

Under the roof of the magnificent Alexandra Palace in London, the RYA will be showcasing new initiatives, offering fantastic competition prizes, as well as answering your questions and sharing a wealth of knowledge and information.

New for 2013 are Start Sailing and the Club Clinics.

If you're just getting into dinghy sailing then the Start Sailing area should be the first stop on your visit to the show. Here you'll be able to chat to our experts about the best boats to learn in, what to wear, where to find a course and much more.

But as well as getting all the vital information you'll also have an opportunity to win some amazing prizes, including loads of kit and gear, a sailing course and even your very own dinghy! Just answer the simple sailing related question and come up with an awesome tie breaker answer and you could be a winner. Find out more at www.dinghyshow.org.uk and visit what's on / competitions.

If your club is looking for advice on legal issues, tips on increasing club membership or perhaps want to know more about club racing then the new RYA Club Clinics provide the perfect opportunity for you to ask those burning questions.

The clinics offer 30 minute, 1-2-1 sessions with leading RYA experts, where you can relax over a cup of coffee and discuss the issues facing your club. Each session will host up to four people per club, with booking on a first come, first served basis. All clubs that book onto a clinic will also receive two free tickets to the show.

Clinics available include:

• Legal advice with RYA Legal & Government Affairs Manager, Gus Lewis or Legal Advisor, Joanna Welch
• Technical advice; from Portsmouth yardstick to Equipment Rules Guidance with RYA Technical Co-ordinator, Andy Wibroe
• Club development, increasing membership and participation with one of the RYA's Regional Development Officers (Andy Hooper or Sally Kilpatrick)
• Race Officials with Chris Watts, RYA Race Officials Education Officer
• Youth & Junior Racing; with one of the RYA's High Performance Managers (Chris Blackburn or Paul Wren)
• How to make disability plain sailing with Debbie Blachford, Sailability Manager
• How to save water, energy and money at the same time with The Green Blue

Also on Saturday (02 March) clubs are invited to attend the RYA Club Briefing which will provide information and updates from the RYA to help make the 2013 season a success. Topics will include equality, Push the Boat Out and changes to racing rules.

Clubs can send up to two representatives to the briefing and each attendee will receive a free RYA Dinghy Show ticket.

The briefing will take place from 10:30 to 11:30 in the Londesborough room. Book your place using the online booking form; RYA Club Briefing Registration Form

Following the huge success of the 2012 Push the Boat Out Day ahead of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games last summer, the RYA is delighted to announce that 'Push the Boat Out' is back for 2013 - and this time for a whole weekend!

At 11.30 on Sunday 03 March, 2012 Paralympic gold medallist Helena Lucas will be joining us on the RYA stand to officially launch the 'Push the Boat Out Weekender', that takes places over the weekend of 18-19 May. Come along to find out more about how you can get involved in the 'Weekender'.

On the RYA stand you'll have the chance to test your knot tying skills in the aptly named 'Knot Wall Challenge'. See how quickly you can correctly tie the selection of boating knots or challenge your friends and family to a 'tie-off' and crown yourself knot tying champion!

We'll also be asking you to 'Have your Say' and tell us what you feel is the most important aspect of the work we do here at the RYA. Is it our work lobbying government and protecting your boating, or developing training courses and publications to build your confidence and keep you safe on the water, or are you mad about high performance sailing and the development programmes we offer? We want to know what's closest to your heart. Come along to the stand, pick up a token and cast your vote.

We also have two great membership offers for new and existing members available during the show.

Anyone who signs up as a new RYA member (all membership types) will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and if you're one of the first 10 existing members to renew your membership each day you'll have the choice of a free RYA umbrella or navigation bag.

For the RYA's publications team it's all about the new Racing Rules 2013-2016. At the show you'll be able to pick up the two new printed editions of the rules; RYA Racing Rules of Sailing 2013-2016 - a waterproof, spiral bound copy which includes the RYA Prescriptions which are essential for racing in UK waters and the RYA Handy Guide to the Racing Rules 2013-2016 – a pocket sized 16 page guide is a simplified view of the basic racing rules; essential if you're new to racing.

The team will also be demonstrating the brand new racing rules eBooks, the RYA Handy Guide to the Racing Rules 2013-2016 and the RYA Racing Rules & Cases 2013-2016. The Handy Guide eBook has the same page layout as the print version but has embedded animations to help bring the rules scenarios to life, making them easier to understand. The Rules and Cases eBook is a fully interactive hyperlinking rules and cases engine that connects all relevant cases to each rule in seconds; an absolute necessity for any protest room.

There will be demo devices available on the RYA stand so pop along and take a look. You will also be able to find a selection of RYA Publications available to purchase at the show and if you're an RYA member you can enjoy a 20% discount on all printed products. Don't worry if we don't have the book you're looking for on the day, we will also have a system in place for you to buy online and you'll still get your 20% discount and postage will be free; just ask the publications desk for the online voucher code.

So what are you waiting for? Get your ticket today.

Buy your tickets in advance and you will also receive a free subscription for three digital issues of Yachts & Yachting magazine and have the chance to help your club win some amazing prizes.

For more information about what's on, competitions, ticket information and online booking visit www.dinghyshow.org.uk or call the ticket hotline on 0844 858 9069.