RYA Start Windsurfing Instructor is the first teaching qualification on the windsurfing pathway. You already windsurf confidently in non-planing conditions. This five-day course shows you how to brief nervous beginners, rig kit they can carry and keep a beach full of novices upright without losing your voice.
Training mixes classroom planning, demonstration sailing and supervised teaching practice. The final day is moderated by an external RYA Trainer who confirms you can deliver Start Windsurfing and Youth Windsurfing Stages 1 and 2 to national standard.
Before you arrive you need intermediate non-planing personal sailing, beach starts, non-planing gybe clinics, first aid, Powerboat Level 2, Safe and Fun and completed pre-course work. Teaching on a windy beach is harder than sailing well alone.
Start Windsurfing Instructor is a training and assessment course with external moderation on the final day.
Quick answers about this qualification. For anything else, use live chat or browse bookable activities below.
Find activitiesIt is the entry RYA windsurf teaching qualification. You learn to deliver Start Windsurfing and Youth Stages 1 and 2 after demonstrating personal sailing and teaching practice to RYA standard.
The course is intensive and practical, not a classroom theory week.
Competent non-planing windsurfer with intermediate certificate, beach starts and non-planing gybe clinics. You must sail cleanly enough to demonstrate while talking.
Leave a comment when you book with your personal sailing certificates and recent board time.
Five days including moderation on the final day. Some centres run consecutive days; others use a long weekend plus days off, but total contact time matches RYA guidance.
Evening lesson planning is part of the workload.
No separate written paper. Assessment is teaching practice, personal sailing and moderation. Pre-course workbook tasks must be finished before arrival.
Trainers discuss theory in briefings rather than formal exams.
Yes, alongside first aid and Safe and Fun. The standard instructor prerequisite set applies to windsurfing as well as dinghy.
Book any missing modules early so certificates are valid on day one.
An external RYA Trainer visits on the final day to confirm your centre's assessment recommendation. They watch teaching and sailing, then agree pass or defer.
Moderation keeps standards consistent between beaches and lakes nationwide.
Sixteen on the first day. Some employers prefer older instructors for commercial beach schools, but the RYA minimum is sixteen.
Youth teaching still demands mature judgement beyond the certificate.
Start Windsurfing and Youth Windsurfing Stages 1 and 2 within centre insurance and staffing policies.
Planing and advanced teaching needs Intermediate Windsurf Instructor after logged hours.
You may be deferred with specific tasks: clearer demonstrations, stronger gybes or tighter safety briefings. Re-assessment is arranged through your centre.
Most deferred candidates pass after targeted practice on their home beach.
The RYA qualification is widely recognised, but work visas, local laws and centre insurance vary by country. Check employers carefully.
Your certificate proves teaching standard; it does not replace local work permits.
adventuro lists RYA centres running Start Windsurfing Instructor courses at coastal and inland venues. Compare moderation dates and whether accommodation is nearby.
Leave a comment when you book listing prerequisites already held so trainers can confirm you are ready.
From £ 450
Somerset and Dorset, United Kingdom
From £ 400
Surrey, East and West Sussex, United Kingdom
From £ 375
East Anglia, United Kingdom