Lifestyle Articles and Helpful Links
Adaptive Speed Sailing for Wheelchair Users
Speed sailing has been adapted in order so that people of all abilities who love to feel the wind in their face and feel the adrenaline rush of making quick decisions can participate and compete. Speed sailing is a sport where the athlete sails as fast as possible, only using the wind in order to propel the vessel, over a predetermined route, typically over water.
A regulatory body records the sailor’s overall speed or peak speed. Sailors with the lowest point total after the race, win. Points are calculated based on the sailor’s finishing position. The fastest competitors earn a lower amount of total points. Competitions are spread out over a series of races and the sailor with the lowest cumulative point total at the end of the final race wins.
Speed sailing competitions happen all over the world and are now considered a medal sport by the Paralympics, consisting of three events: single-person keelboat, two-person keelboat and three-person keelboat.
Call 888-570-1113 to talk to one of our associates today!
Request to be Contacted Find a Local ProviderThe Beginnings of Speed Sailing
Although sailing has been around since as early as the 1600s, speed sailing as an adaptive sport is actually relatively new. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that the International Handicap Sailing Committee, later renamed the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS), was formed. Even with the formation of the IFDS, it took until 2000 for speed sailing to become a medal sport in the Paralympic Games.
Who Can Participate
Paralympic speed sailing is available to both male and female athletes, and in two- and three-person events specifically, at least one sailor on each crew must be a woman. Because of how the sport is played, allowing for boats to be configured to suit unique sailors’ needs, all kinds of athletes can participate, including athletes with a physical impairment, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, dwarfism, limb loss, brain injury, visual impairment and may or may not be ambulatory.
Taking into account the nature of the sport and the fact that it’s a sport of technique and quick thinking, athletes with different abilities may compete against each other in the same race. It is stated that outside Paralympic competitions, sailors with impairments often do compete alongside able-bodied sailors.
There are a few options that you can investigate if you’re interested in participating in Paralympic Speed Sailing. Consider joining a group, such as an adaptive sailing program, whether it be a local, provincial or college team, or enter a competition.
Apart from competing, there are many other ways you can contribute to the adaptive sailing community. You can take a more educational approach by becoming an adaptive sailing instructor, developing your own adaptive sailing program or even spreading awareness of the need for adaptive speed sailing programs to your local sailing clubs and organizations.
Para-Classifications
There are seven levels of classification for athletes with a physical disability:
- Classes 1 and 2: Athletes with severely restricted control or movement in their arms, typically caused by quadriplegia or an amputation through the shoulders
- Class 3: Athletes may have amputations or an equivalent disability that restricts their mobility
- Classes 4 and 5: Athletes may have a range of moderate impairments, including amputations
- Classes 6 and 7: Athletes may have a range of mild impairments, including amputations