CADET WEEK APPLICATION PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA.

How do I improve my child's chances of attending Cadet Week in 2024?

Certain groups in Cadet Week are frequently over subscribed, with more sailors than available spaces. These are typically the lake training, and sometimes the river training groups. River racing (MG) groups are unconstrained since we offer coached racing where there is no maximum limit on group sizes. Based on previous years, it is likely that around 10% of the cadets who wish to attend cadet week will be unable to do so. 

To improve your child's chances of attending you can:

• If they are not cadet members in their own right, then apply for membership as soon as possible (See 'My child is not a member' below).
• Encourage them to attend as many of the BSC cadet training events as possible. See 'What criteria will be used' below.
• Encourage them to practice sailing and racing regularly at the club, outside of formal training weekends. More able and experienced sailors are less likely to be in groups that are oversubscribed.
• Volunteer during Cadet Week. We can't run the week without volunteers, so we will prioritise entry for cadets who have parents, guardians or relatives who are able to help. 
• If you have the skills, consider becoming an RYA assistant instructor, dinghy instructor or racing coach. The more instructors we have, the more children we can train, so we will prioritise entry for cadets who have parents, guardians or relatives who are instructors at Cadet Week. Contact the cadet skipper for more information.
• Buy a boat. We only have a limited number of club boats to hire. Having your own boat will improve your chances of getting a place.

What is the application process?

The process is in three phases. The dates below are approximate and subject to change.

Phase one - registration: 15th May to 15th June

In this first phase cadets need to be registered, and pay their registration fee. It does not matter when you register as long as you do so before the mid June deadline. At this stage they don’t have a guaranteed place, but without registering and paying they won’t be able to enter Cadet Week. The registration window lasts for a month, and when you register will have no bearing on whether a place is available. Cadets who are not yet members will need to apply for membership (see 'My child is not a member' below) before registering. 

Phase two - selection: 15th June to 20th June

Once we have all the registrations we will allocate instructors to groups, and decide which cadets should go into which group. If a group is not full, then all cadets in that group will be selected. If a particular groups is oversubscribed, then cadets will either be selected, or put on a waiting list. The criteria for selection is given below. Cadets who have not paid their registration fee will not be considered for selection.

Phase three - confirmation: 20th June to 30th June

Cadets will be notified of their selection, or position on the relevant waiting list on or around the 20th June. At this stage it will be possible to withdraw from Cadet week and receive a full refund. This will move up other Cadets from any relevant waiting lists.

During phase three we may accept additional registrations into the MG racing groups and possibly into selected training groups, at the discretion of the Cadet Skipper. If you have missed the registration deadline then please contact the skipper as soon as possible to see if there is an available space and to receive a special post deadline registration code.

Final places for cadet week need to be confirmed before the 1st July. After this point no further registration is possible and a full refund will not be possible as we will have committed expenditure based on expected numbers. Any cadets who have not made the final selection will then receive a full refund of their registration fee, as a credit on their BSC account (to recover the payment, contact the BSC treasurer).

What criteria will be used if a particular group is oversubscribed?

In the event of a particular training group being over subscribed, we will use the following criteria to determine which cadets we would prioritize:

• Cadets who have been members the longest (not the parents membership). All cadets in school year three will be treated as if they have been members since the 1st September of the previous year regardless of their exact joining date.
• Cadets who have participated in other training events during the year: the more the better!
• Cadets with parents, guardians or close relatives who are instructors and/or key volunteers for Cadet Week. Key volunteers are adult cadet committee members, plus the heads of the bridge, safety, ramp, and galley teams.
• Siblings who have been selected in other groups.
• Availability of parents, guardians or relatives as adult volunteers during the week. The more days you can volunteer for, the better. Please note that if parents volunteer to help, but are unavailable when required then this will be taken into consideration in allocating places at future events.
• Boat ownership. We have a limited number of boats to hire, and having your own boat will help get you a place.

Although all of these will be taken into account there is no formal weighting of these criteria. As is the case now, the final decision will be made by the Cadet Skipper. 

How does this affect new members?

Under this system relatively new members will be disadvantaged relative to existing members. However, you can still improve your chances of getting your child in, as the first section above explains. Specifically, we strongly suggest that new members join as soon as possible.

The earlier you join the club, then you will have a better chance of succeeding next year (due to the length of membership criteria). Your chances will also be improved considerably if your cadet does plenty of training weekends in 2025 before you apply for Cadet week.

My child is not a member of the club

You cannot do cadet week unless you are a paid up cadet member of the club in your own right. It is not enough for your parents or grandparents to be members! In a change from previous years, cadets only have to be in school year three to take part in cadet training, so they can join from January 1st in the year they will turn eight.

 If your cadet is already eight years old, or will turn eight before 1st September 2024, then they should join as soon as possible. If their parents are guardians are already members, it is unlikely your membership will be refused but this formality is still required. They should also attend as many training events as possible once they have become members. 

IMPORTANT: If your cadet membership fee is not paid for before the registration deadline, then you wil not be given a place in Cadet Week.