Inclusive Sailing

For IBSA, the project Sailing into the Future. Together is not only a sporting undertaking, but also an opportunity to support social responsibility activities, by proposing itself as a partner of several Yacht Clubs that promote inclusive sailing initiatives.

The experience of sailing allows everyone to test themselves and their skills, and this is all the more true for those who live with a disability. In this case, sport becomes a tool for discovering attitudes and talents, going beyond one’s physical or cognitive difficulties; a chance to improve self-confidence and create opportunities for direct knowledge, educating to the respect of each other and opposing social isolation, prejudice and discrimination.

Implementing inclusive sailing projects means becoming promoters of a cultural and social change, as well as creating a path of enrichment that benefits all those who take part in it. If, on the one hand, people with disabilities are offered an opportunity to grow and to live intense and exciting experiences at sea (which are often precluded to them), on the other even ‘able-bodied’ crew members experience moments of interaction and greater awareness, that increase their willingness to welcome diversity.

With these aims, IBSA decided to start a number of partnerships with several nautical clubs in Switzerland, Italy and France – three countries which, in the course of 2022, has been actively involved in events, regattas and initiatives carried out within the project Sailing into the Future. Together.

In particular, collaborations have been launched with the Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano (Switzerland), the Yacht Club of Punta Ala (Grosseto, Italy) and the Société des Regates d’Antibes (France) and Un example is the donation by IBSA of a few boats specifically designed to involve children with disabilities and let them experience the contact with the sea and the world of sailing.

Continuing the commitment to make sailing increasingly accessible, IBSA has also entered into a partnership with the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV, Federazione Italiana Vela) for the Para Sailing Academy (a disabled sailing school), in order to promote and develop the sailing discipline for people with disabilities, both at national and international level.

Through its contribution, IBSA aims at broadening the scope of the project, by touching different realities and providing important opportunities for aggregation and integration, dialogue, interaction and mutual understanding, to help break down barriers and differences.