Sailing at school: Hayo Koch on his sailing club and sailing trips with boys only
Nils Leiterholt
· 06.12.2023
Is sailing a good school?
Definitely! It's really nice to see how the pupils interact with each other outside of school. But we have also organised boys-only sailing trips to provide targeted support for adolescent pupils. Because boys just tick differently to girls - as the father of one boy and two girls, I can say that.
What kind of trips are these?
These are cross-grade school trips, for example with flat-bottomed boats on the IJsselmeer. The programme is aimed at pupils from seventh to tenth grade. It is like a self-organised school trip with participants who do not yet know each other very well. The pupils have to draw up a meal plan in advance, are given a budget and go shopping themselves. On the ship too, especially during the manoeuvres, everyone has their own tasks.
What characterises a boys-only sailing trip?
From an educational point of view, the great thing is that there is no macho behaviour on board. After all, nobody has to make a name for themselves in front of any girls because there are none on board.
And how did you get into sailing yourself?
When I was a student myself, my brother's friend had a BM dinghy in Holland and we sailed there a lot. We often travelled on the Frisian lakes. We spent the night on board under the tarpaulin. That's how we made the canals and lakes unsafe - classic travelling sailing.
And later you stuck with it?
Yes, I got a sailing licence at university and asked my father if he would like to do the same. We then bought a small cabin cruiser together in 1978. We got braver and braver with the boat, first out on the IJsselmeer and then later on the Wadden Sea. And in 2004 I finally dared to go to Helgoland.
Today, you are not only involved in sailing at your school, but also in the North Rhine-Westphalia State Sailing Association. What do you do there?
The SVNRW was looking for someone to organise teacher training for the so-called sport-specific rescue skills for sailing. The background to this is that this qualification is required by a safety decree for sports lessons, which is binding for schools and teachers. So anyone who wants to offer sailing in a school setting needs this qualification.
That was exactly your case!
Yes, and that's why I said straight away that I wanted to do it. Because I think it's important that teachers can gain this qualification. I have already completely revised the existing training concept. I'm doing this to give teachers the chance to set up a working group. To do this, they need a sports boat licence, a first aid certificate, a lifeguard certificate and proof from the SVNRW of their sport-specific rescue skills. But this should also be enough cover for the teachers in the event of an accident.
