We are fundraising to be able to allow as many women as possible to attend the national level women's team racing event, 'The Lass O'Strath'. We want to make the event accessible to every woman in the Sailing Club, no matter their financial situation. We are aiming to raise £500 through donations, which the University will double from generous alumni support!
Who are we?
We are Alice Carter (Women's Captain) and Alex Horseman (Sponsorship Secretary), part of the University of Bristol Sailing Club (UBSC) committee. UBSC is a student run society, providing sailing opportunities for all students. We run beginner sessions alongside intensive training programs for our high performance competitive teams in dinghy team racing, fleet racing, keel boating and yachting.
Our story
With sailing historically being a male dominated sport, many women face difficulties getting involved for the first time.
Data taken from the Royal Yachting Association in 2023 found that "1 in 2 women and girls have experienced some form of gender discrimination in sailing or boating and have been made to feel that they do not feel welcome in sailing environments".
In the last 2 years UBSC has added the new committee position of Women's Captain. My role is to promote and provide opportunities for women in sailing at UBSC, making experienced sailors feel valued and comfortable whilst also welcoming and guiding beginners into the wider sailing community. We run women's only sailing sessions throughout the year with the end goal being to compete in national level women's events.
The Event
The Women's Nationals empower female sailors. It gives us the opportunity to sail at a national level in a really supportive and positive environment.
This year the event is being hosted by Strathclyde Sailing Club so we will travel to Glasgow to race at Bardowie Loch.
Last year, we took two teams (12 ladies) to the Nationals hosted by Spinnaker Sailing Club, and for many, it was their first chance to race in an away event. We achieved some excellent results, with one team qualifying into the gold fleet and the other into the silver fleet! The confidence that our ladies quickly developed on the race course was so amazing to see, and I really hope we can take that into the nationals this year and come out with some results to be really proud of.
This year we will have 3 teams (18 ladies) competing, likely more than any other university in the UK!
Why we need your help
With this event being in Scotland and taking place over a whole weekend in February 2025, there are many costs associated with competing.
Event entry is £360 per team (£60pp), plus travel costs from Bristol to Glasgow and back (a 750 mile round trip)!
Your donations will subsidise all 18 ladies' event entry costs, making it affordable for students who otherwise would not have been able to come.
If we have some excess money from this fundraising campaign, we hope to purchase some women's sized buoyancy aids for the club to allow women without their own kit to come along to our women only sessions and have the option of a properly fitting and comfortable buoyancy aid.
Find us here
Follow @ladiesofubsc on Instagram to keep up to date with our sailing journey to the Nationals and see what we've been up to in the last year.
Help us succeed!
You don’t need to donate to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence.
We are so proud of what we have achieved so far and want to show off the incredible opportunities that have opened up for us; please help us to continue achieving great things!
Thank you so much for your support,
Alice Carter, Women's Captain on behalf of The University of Bristol Sailing Club
