| Trustees’ Annual Report | Trustees’ Annual Report | Trustees’ Annual Report | Trustees’ Annual Report | for the period | for the period | for the period | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period start date | Period end date | ||||||
| Day | Month | Year | Day | Month | Year | ||
| From | 1st | October | 2024 | To | 30th | September | 2025 |
Reference and administration details
Charity name Largs Sail Training Association Registered charity number SC040552 Charity’s principal address Largs Yacht Haven Irvine Road Largs Ayrshire Postcode KA30 8EZ
Names of the charity trustees on date of approval of Trustees’ Annual Report
| Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
Philip Alderson | Chairman / Principal | ||
| Bill Forsyth | Chief Instructor (Dinghy and Power) |
LSC Executive Committee |
||
| Carol Alderson | ||||
| Treasurer | ||||
| Martin Faulkner | ||||
| Dani Keene | ||||
| Kate Shelly | ||||
| Zoe Linton | ||||
Reference and administration details
Names of all other charity trustees during the period, if any, (for example, those who resigned part way through the financial period)
Name Dates acted if not for whole year
Structure, governance and management
| Type of governing document Trustee recruitment and appointment |
The association was set up by Largs Sailing Club on the 6thof March 2008 and was recognised as a charity with effect from the 4th of June 2009. The association is an unincorporated association. |
|---|---|
| The Committee Members were those appointed on the establishment of the Association and elected subsequently. Appointment and removal is in accordance with the Constitution which requires that committee members to be elected at a general meeting of the members. The Committee may co-opt up to 3 additional committee members and fill any casual vacancy that may arise. The constitution requires that there are 2 representatives of each of the Executive and Sailing Committees of Largs Sailing Club |
|
| Objectives and activities | |
| Charitable purposes Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects |
|
| The purpose of the association is to promote community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for sailing, and other water sports. In furtherance of this objective the association: - ● Encourages, in particular, the involvement and development of young people ● Stimulates and promotes participants’ motivation, aspirations and levels of achievement and ● Develops knowledge of seamanship and practical skills relating to the safe participation in water sports Develops participants’ self-confidence, self-esteem and ability to take on organisational roles. |
|
| The Association provides practical courses in sailing and windsurfing for adults and young persons, in accordance with the RYA National and Youth Sailing Schemes. The Association also provides specific practical courses for power boating under the RYA National Powerboat Scheme. In addition, the Association offers a considerable number of other opportunities for trainees to develop their seamanship skills through the provision of boats, equipment and additional coaching. |
| Financial review | |
|---|---|
| Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves |
|
| These funds will be used to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet ongoing operational requirements and make future investment in equipment. |
Details of any deficit The receipts and payments accounts for 2024 show a surplus of £13,768. The trustees are happy that revenue income and spending are in line and reserves are at a satisfactory level. Donated facilities and services (if The LSTA relies heavily on donated facilities and services from Largs any) Sailing Club (LSC). LSC provides berthage, changing facilities, briefing rooms and safety craft for LSTA activities.
Achievements and performance
We ran a full programme of training in 2025 In addition to our normal Monday and Thursday evening activities we also ran an increased number of weekend courses and a programme of week day courses through the school summer holidays.
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Beginner sail training to existing and new Adult and Cadet members through 73 separate activities.
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Set of six Active Schools sessions during Monday daytime for 12 pupils from Largs Academy
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Taster Sessions one for Largs Boys Brigade and one for Largs academy with 45 attendees.
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The provision of safe, fun, sail training and marine activities for our existing junior, cadet members on both Monday and Thursday evenings.
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Delivering RYA Power Boat 2, RYA Safety Boat and refresher training to our adult members in support of club racing.
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Continuing to attract new adult members and retain existing trainees by offering high quality training to the RYA dinghy syllabus on Tuesday evenings
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Supporting, assisting and delivering new sail training instructors to the sport.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication of all our volunteers. Including cadet parents who help with the beach and getting us all on the water, young Assistant Instructors learning how to pass their knowledge onto the next generation. Instructors who tirelessly bring enthusiasm and experience week in week out. Senior Instructors who help with the organisation and management. The onshore team who helps with keeping the sailing boats and safety boats working and ready to go.
Finally, as we look forward and make provisional plans for our 2026 season, we hope to ensure that we not only build on our successes but continue to look at new innovative ways to deliver fun marine activities with our incredible, volunteer instructor base.
Some figures for the 2024 season:
| Thursday Cadets | 28 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday Adults | 17 |
| Monday Seniors | 26 |
| First Aid course candidates | 26 |
| RYA Power boat Level 2 | 26 |
| RYA Safety Boat | 9 |
The current LSTA training fleet now consists of:
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One RIB
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One RS Quest
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Five RS Visions
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Five RS Fevas
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Twelve RS Teras
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Six RS Qubas
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One Dart 16
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Eight Toppers
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One Laser
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Twelve Windsurfing Boards and associated rigs
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● Eight Training Optimists
Other optional information
VOLUNTEERS
LSTA training is largely delivered by volunteer instructors with appropriate qualifications and experience. The Association relies heavily upon these volunteer instructors and many other volunteers in administration and maintenance. Largs Sail Training Association is indebted to all volunteers for their help and support.
FUTURE PLANS & DEVELOPMENT
Our main development goals for the 2025-26 season are to:
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a) Replace aging parts of the training fleet with more suitable boats to support our programs, through sponsorship and/or grant funding. Specifically, we aim to pursue funding to replace several of the RS Vision dinghies
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b) continue to increase the numbers of cadets moving through RYA Scotland Academy and Squads; and
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c) continue to work with the LSC dinghy section to improve the participation in club racing by cadets and adults in training;
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d) Work with local authority partners to develop a programme for introducing sailing to those from difficult backgrounds.
RISK MANAGEMENT
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Association is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances and are satisfied that systems and other means, including insurance cover, where appropriate are in place to mitigate the Association’s exposure to those major risks.
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
| P Alderson | Carol Alderson | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name(s) Position Date |
Philip Alderson | Carol Alderson |
Chairman |
Treasurer | |
| 30/11/2025 | 30/11/2025 |
Signature(s) P Alderson
| P Alderson | Carol Alderson | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name(s) Position Date |
Philip Alderson | Carol Alderson |
Chairman |
Treasurer | |
| 30/11/2025 | 30/11/2025 |