How should a sailing school manage instructor availability?
5 min read · Updated 6 October 2026 · Written for Principals, Chief Instructors and centre managers
The short answer
Ask each instructor for their usual week once, then only the exceptions. Collect availability for a fixed window ahead (four to eight weeks suits most schools), set a deadline before you build the roster, and treat anything unanswered as busy rather than free. Keep it in one place the office can see while rostering, not in a chat group.
Why availability goes wrong
Most schools collect availability by message: a WhatsApp poll, a few texts, a note on the whiteboard. It works for a handful of people. With a seasonal team of freelancers, students and volunteers, the answers end up spread across phones, half of them out of date by the time the roster is built.
A system that works
- Usual week first. Each instructor says which mornings, afternoons and evenings they normally work. That alone answers most weeks.
- Exceptions only. After that they only change the days that differ: a wedding, exams, a regatta, another job.
- A fixed window. Ask for availability a set number of weeks ahead and no further. Too far ahead and people guess; too short and you can't plan.
- A deadline. Tell everyone when you'll build the roster and that availability after that point may not be used.
- Silence means busy. Never assume an unanswered slot is free. It's the most common cause of no-shows.
- Free, maybe, busy. A 'maybe' lets people offer a slot without promising it, which is exactly what you want for cover.
Use it while you roster
Availability is only useful if it's in front of you when you assign people. A separate spreadsheet you have to cross-check is where mistakes creep in. Put the two side by side.
Late changes and fairness
- When someone changes availability after the roster is published, the person rostering needs to know straight away.
- Spread sessions fairly across the people who are free. Freelancers who are offered nothing in June won't be free in August.
- Approved leave should update availability automatically, so you can't roster someone who is off.
Tip: Publish the roster on the same day each week. People plan around it, and it gives the availability deadline a reason.