Northern Ireland's Ballyholme Yacht Club Hosts Enthralling Women on Water Festival 2025

Ballyholme Yacht Club in Northern Ireland recently became the setting for the Women on Water Festival 2025, a unique event aimed to inspire, equip and empower women and girls with the necessary confidence and skills to engage in sailing and other water-based pursuits. Hosted by RYA Northern Ireland, this event is designed chiefly for those with little to no sailing experience and offers a wealth of different water-based activities under professional guidance.

This festival is part and parcel of RYA Northern Ireland’s Women On Water programme. This initiative, which has been running for more than a decade, was launched to stimulate an influx of women and girls into the realms of sailing and boating. Numerous studies have revealed that when women are provided with opportunities to hone their abilities in a supportive, positive environment, they are more likely to take part in a sport and stick with it.

In 2023, RYA Northern Ireland launched ‘Navigating the Future’, a bold five-year strategy aimed at enhancing diversity within the sport. Fast-forward to 2025, RBCA, a reputable chartered accountancy firm based in Belfast, proudly became the first-ever sponsor of the Women on Water programme. This pioneering partnership, set to provide support over an initial three years, will foster greater awareness of further events and foster the implementation of a broader range of Women On Water-focused programs at local sailing clubs throughout the region.

RYA Northern Ireland is on an unwavering quest to boost female participation across all clubs in the region. It is evident that such events are bridging gaps, breaking barriers, and crafting greater diversity in a sport that is enjoyed by all. They resonate with inspiring stories of empowerment, while winding integral threads of unity into the fabric of the broader sailing community.