Honour for dedicated member of Chelmarsh Sailing Club
A dedicated member of Chelmarsh Sailing Club has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to the sport in the 2023 RYA Volunteer Awards.
David Thursfield from Bewdley was among 81 volunteers from across the UK honoured in this year’s awards by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA).
The awards were presented by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, President of the RYA, at the Grade II listed One Great George Street in London.
David was recognised for Lifetime Commitment within the RYA Community Awards category for those supporting the grassroots of the sport.
A member of Chelmarsh SC for more than three decades, David is a competitive racing sailor and has been a trustee of the club for 15 years. He has also served as a Fleet Captain, Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore (Sailing) and Commodore.
In nominating David for the award, Chelmarsh SC said his help had been invaluable in several key areas, including the day-to-day running of the club, developing racing formats to encourage participation, and lease re-negotiation, which had allowed the club to diversify into other watersports and remain viable.
The club’s citation added: “David participates regularly in the off-the-water activities necessary for a volunteer club to function smoothly, helping out wherever necessary, including leading charitable activities such as organising a five-hour race in support of the RNLI for many years.”
David said: "Chelmarsh is a club run entirely by volunteers. Many members put in extraordinary efforts to make it a wonderfully vibrant place for racing and cruising sailors, paddle boarders and open water swimmers to enjoy our wonderful environment and modern comfortable facilities.
"For my own part, I am humbled to be singled out to receive this award. It belongs to the many members who have made our training and achievements possible. I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy my membership and volunteering to run events which offer sail-boat racing competition. Supporting fundraising activities, particularly for nautical charities like the RNLI and the Andrew Simpson Foundation, which introduces youngsters to sailing, makes it all the more worthwhile.”
RYA CEO Sara Sutcliffe MBE said: “Our sport relies so much on the goodwill and skills of volunteers at every level, without whom the opportunities to get involved in boating would be greatly reduced. It’s so humbling to hear of the many examples of selfless commitment our award recipients have shown – in many cases spanning decades – and they represent many thousands more who give their time to support boating in whatever way, great or small. Our grateful thanks go to them all.”
