The Association consists of recognized sailing clubs on the Thame River between Oxford and Teddington. They also had other organizations and clubs included that would be able to keep with the rules of sailing. In 1890 The Association began with the Thames Conservancy on new laws for steam ships and boats on the Upper Thames River. Then in 1928 they decided to use the Yacht Racing Association rules in the place of their rules and looked to a partnership with that association. However in 1948 the association was ended.
From there the Royal Yachting Association took over. The Royal Yachting Association was founded in 1875 by Frank Willian. Originally the Royal Yachting Association was called the Yacht Racing Association but was switched to the RYA in 1953. The RYA’s purpose is to govern the activities and training exercises. There are a few different committees in the RYA which include:
- Operations Committee
- Honors and Awards
- Central Finance Committee
- RYA Tribunal
- Constitution Committee
- Certifying Authority Committee
- Cruising Committee
- Legal & government Affairs Committee
- Marketing Committee
- Powerboat Racing Committee
- Racing Committee
- Sports Development Committee
- Technical Committee
- Training Committee
- Windsurfing Committee
The goals of the RYA are to increase RYA activity participation
- To increase the number of boats
- To bring safety and awareness to individuals
- To represent boating rights and responsibilities
- To work with British and other international organizations
- To raise standards to spread interests in the UK
- To rank higher.
In conclusion the Sailing Boats Association was dissolved in 1948, but merged with the RYA.