A 3–4 minute read.
Your call to action:
✅ Ensure your contact details are current and correct HERE
✅ Invite other current and former serving veterans (and their family) to join the Salty Community
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G’day Salty Crew 💛⚓️💙
We’re excited to launch the SVSP 2026–2027 Pilot Participation Program — designed to help reduce barriers to sailing participation for current and former serving ADF members, veteran families, and supporting volunteers.
Through this pilot, SVSP will support funded Australian Sailing membership and insurance coverage, helping veterans safely participate in sailing activities, training, and club racing across Australia — whether with SVSP, local clubs, or other veteran sailing groups.
At its core, this is about keeping veterans sailing accessible, connected, inclusive, and community-driven while continuing to build wellbeing, confidence, leadership, and opportunity through sailing.
Available to:
• Current serving ADF members
• Former serving veterans
• Veteran families
• SVSP supporters and volunteers
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SVSP Participation Model (2026–2027 Pilot Phase)
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1 | Funded Community Participant | $0 (New / Pilot Addition)
Funded (not free) through SVSP fundraising, donations, sponsorships and grants
Includes:
• Australian Sailing membership and insurance coverage — essential for participation and mandatory for club racing
• Access to funded participation in SVSP community sailing days and non-course activities
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2 | Salty Supporter | $75 per year (Has remained the same price since 2023)
Contributing Supporter of the community and programs you enjoy
For those able to contribute financially, this pathway includes:
• All Funded Community Participant benefits
• Eligibility for:
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SVSP course scholarships and contributory training support
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SVSP regatta contributory funding support toward entries and participation
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2026 contributory coursework scholarship includes:
• $200 support towards sailing course work for Salty Supporters
• $400 support for active season Volunteer Crew
• $75 regatta participation support per current-season SVSP Supporter participating in a regatta
As we’ve always done for those experiencing financial barriers, please reach out confidentially and we will upgrade your Salty status at no cost so you can still access these additional opportunities.
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3 | Volunteer Crew | Fully Funded / $0 (New / Pilot Addition)
Available to those who have actively volunteered more than five times within the past 12 months through one or more of the following:
• Keelboat and Powerboat instructors
• Provision of a volunteered yacht (yacht owner support)
• Maintenance of SALT-E-7 and SALTY RHIB
• Backend administration support
• Fundraising, grant writing and project support
• Event coordination and facilitation
• Other recognised contributions supporting the SVSP community
Please respect the intent of this pathway, as Volunteer Crew aims to honour, recognise and reward those who actively help keep SVSP sailing through contributions of their time to support the wider Salty community.
This pathway is made possible through the generosity of sponsors, donors and fundraising efforts.
Includes full Salty Supporter benefits PLUS additional course funding scholarship support.
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All participation pathways provide access to SVSP community sailing activities.
The key distinction is that Volunteer Crew recognises active volunteering through a fully funded pathway, while Salty Supporter reflects a small financial contribution toward sustaining the community and programs Salty Vets enjoy. Both pathways enable eligibility for additional development opportunities and scholarships.
This approach helps ensure these opportunities remain sustainable, accessible, and fairly distributed across the community.
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Membership Year Change
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SVSP is also transitioning its membership year from a financial year (July–June) structure to a calendar year structure (January–December).
This change will:
• Better align with our principal sponsor, RSL NSW, and its sub-branches
• Improve consistency across program delivery and reporting
• Allow clearer year-on-year impact measurement
• Strengthen how we present participation and impact statistics for funding and evaluation purposes
For our current season Salty Supporters — for those who would normally renew during this transition period (aka 01 July) — SVSP has extended all current memberships through until December 2026 at no additional cost to our Salty community.
This approach helps ensure nobody is disadvantaged during the changeover period.
For those who would normally choose the Salty Supporter pathway and feel inclined to assist, a small tax-deductible donation toward supporting this transition period is always appreciated, but entirely optional: Donate Here
Thanks to every single Salty Vet, volunteer, supporter, sponsor and donor who continues helping build this incredible salty community.
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Context & Purpose
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SVSP is an ACNC-registered charity operating in an environment where funding is limited and never guaranteed. Our sustainability relies heavily on the continued support of the Salty community through:
• Grant applications
• Fundraising initiatives, including the ASX raffle
• Sponsorships
• Donations
• Supporter contributions
• Volunteers and volunteered community support
Importantly, our chartiable aim remains the same:
To ensure sailing is fully funded — or significantly subsidised — for veterans (current & former serving) and their families.
What we are refining is the structure itself, moving toward a simple model of:
• funded participation pathways, and
• contributing supporter pathways
This approach strengthens long-term sustainability while continuing to remove financial barriers to participation in sailing more broadly.
A key part of this is maintaining active Australian Sailing participation and associated personal insurance coverage, enabling participation at sailing & yacht clubs across Australia.
With the continued support of:
• RSL NSW Veterans Support Fund and its sub-branches (for NSW resident veterans)
• Ocius (Sydney)
• Maroochy RSL (Sunshine Coast)
• Port Waratah Coal Services (Newcastle)
SVSP is well positioned to implement this pilot responsibly over the next 12–24 months.
This pilot will allow SVSP to refine a model that balances funded access, contributor support, and long-term sustainability, while staying true to our core mission of removing barriers to participation in sailing for veterans and their families.
Together, we are creating greater connection, wellbeing, opportunity and belonging through sailing.
Stay Salty
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