BGA Club Development Conference 2026
Join us in October for the 2026 BGA Club Development Conference
Eastwood Hall, Mansfield Rd, Eastwood, Nottingham NG16 3SS,
09.00 to 17.15 Sunday 18th October
We are shaping the day to include briefings, discussions, and conversational networking time so that you can get the most out of being in a room full of people who specialise in running gliding activities for club members.
NB: If at any time you want to book rather than carry on reading, simply scroll to the bottom of the page
View Agenda
Our theme for the day is broadly ‘leading your club to grow’ because creating and sustaining gliding clubs as happy, active clubs with plenty of gliding activity both in the air and on the ground is uniquely challenging. How can we make it as easy as possible for everyone, including people who run the club, to enjoy their gliding?
We have carefully considered how we can best utilise the day and have the discussions that will support you as club leaders.
There will be much to discuss, with plenty of scope for strategic thinking about the future of the sport and contributing your ideas. Gliding has never been a solo sport.
The provisional programme is available to download. As ever we have a mix of plenary and breakout sessions, enabling delegates to build their own agenda during the day.
All delegates will be in the first session of the day, which is traditionally where we share news and also set up the rest of the day. This year your food for thought is ‘Creating and sustaining great gliding clubs’.
After coffee, BGA Chief Technical Officer Gordon Macdonald will be running a Technical Officer Workshop for the rest of the day. He will be joined by Dominic Newton, Part66L Lead.
Everyone else will be back in the main room after lunch for the Safety update, and two sessions which should give a fresh perspective on both flying and funding.
Workshops
This year there are three, two of 50 minutes before lunch and one of 60 minutes after tea. You can change stream during the day, or you can stay in one room and enjoy three aspects of one development area. Our aim is to create practical and pragmatic sessions so that you can take ideas and put them into action at your club. Specifics are still being designed, but we hope there is enough here for you to get a feel for what is in store on the day.
Club Management:
This is a very broad heading. At present two workshops are decided: inclusion, with guest speaker Al Rosser of Aerobility; and the practicalities of welcoming new members. The final workshop is likely to be something topical…
Club Financial Health:
for club Treasurers and anyone interested in the financial management of clubs. Led by David Howse who many of you may know from his work with rates and rating valuations.
Good financial management and governance of clubs seem to get more and more demanding every year. This session is intended for current and future club treasurers, and others involved or with an interest in the ‘business side’ of managing a gliding club.
We plan to have potential attendees set most of the agenda by asking in advance for ‘hot topics’ you want to discuss in the session (look out for emails), as well as providing briefings on current matters that the BGA club development team are dealing with on our behalf. There will also be an opportunity to table subjects on the day.
This is a great opportunity for sharing problems, ideas and solutions and making contacts with others for ongoing mutual support activities.
Community:
for people interested in building strong community links, including being able to access local pots of funding.
Marilyn Hood and Suzanne Robinson of the BGA Expanding Horizons initiative will be leading two workshops. The first one on making sure your club is easy to navigate for people on their first visit, and the second on accessing community funding.
Instructor Development & Operations Management:
for CFIs and those interested in the training that clubs provide for members. Led by Rose Johnson and Co.
These sessions are highly valued for the opportunity to get together and discuss various aspects of pilot development and training, both in the air and on the ground. Supporting the breadth and depth of training needs for club members is critical for every club. Also critical for membership retention is that standards are maintained and fun flying / cheesy grins are created.
Junior Gliding:
for JGC Liaison Officers; Club Child Protection Officers; people involved with running junior gliding activities at clubs.
Claire Emson and Lorna Sleigh work with Junior Gliding Centres and Karon Matten is the BGA Child Protection Lead. They support clubs to provide happy and enjoyable gliding for young people. They will be running the first workshop together, and later Karon will run a separate (additional) session for Club Child Protection Officers.
The £40 Delegate Fee includes:
- Entry
- Access to conference materials & resources
- Lunch & refreshments
The event is for elected and unelected club officials and key volunteers
Chairs | Treasurers | CFIs | Club Managers | Junior Gliding Centre Coordinators | CPOs | CTOs
People who are involved in developing and delivering specific gliding activities
We welcome unelected, active, club volunteers because we recognise that being ‘on the Committee’ is not for everybody. Whilst not every club is represented by their elected Board or committee, the aim of the conference is to share ideas and information between clubs so that each club is a vibrant and enjoyable place for taking part in gliding, so we welcome unelected volunteers to come and join in too.
Several clubs send multiple delegates who value their discussions during the shared car journey to and from the conference.
We have plenty of space, so please do encourage more people from your club attend.
Extend the day
Many delegates arrive on the previous evening, gather for dinner and catch up in the bar. They enjoy a good breakfast and an easy arrival into the conference room.
If this idea appeals to you, we have secured preferential rates
For accommodation book directly with Eastwood Hall – 01773532532 or 01773532506 and quote either Club Management Conference 2026 or booking number 5619705
£107.00 per room, per night based on single occupancy, £117.00 double occupancy – bed and breakfast
£127.00 per room, per night based on single occupancy, £157.00 double occupancy – dinner, bed and breakfast.
Comments from previous events:
“Great opportunity to meet like minded club members who are probably trying to solve similar issues and making similar mistakes. Meeting each other might solve the problems and reduce the mistakes!”
“Learning what works”
“This is THE event of the year for club management volunteers”
“A must attend event”
“The most useful event in the BGA calendar”
“Very good for sharing information”
“It gets better every year”
“The representation of the diversity of gliding in the UK, and from right across the UK was striking”
“that chance at lunch or tea break can put you alongside the particular person that can make all the difference to something you are doing”
Can you afford to miss it?