IBSA and the Para Sailing Academy at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Riva del Garda: inclusion and sailing available to everyone

Riva del Garda recently hosted the Youth Sailing World Championships, a week of exciting regattas which saw the participation of over 400 young athletes and sailors from 70 nations. This context of high sporting competition was characterised by values ​​such as inclusiveness and sustainability,widely shared by IBSA.

The Youth World Championships were a perfect opportunity for the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV, Federazione Italiana Vela) – co-organiser of the event together with World Sailing – to promote messages of inclusion and accessibility, also thanks to the presenceof the Para Sailing Academy (a disabled sailing school), a project supported by IBSA and born in collaboration with the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano), the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP, Comitato Italiano Paralimpico) and World Sailing itself. The goal of the Para Sailing Academy is to make sailing a sport suitable for everyone: a tool for growth and equal opportunities, which should be brought back into the Paralympic Games.

During the World Cup in Riva del Garda, training sessions and trials on Hansa 303s were also organised. Suitable for both able-bodied and disabled people, these boats facilitate learning, allowing athletes to use them in total freedom, in single or double crews. The Hansa 303s are in fact ideal for introducing young people to competitive activity, since they allow tutors to quickly teach strategic concepts which, with other crafts, would take much longer.

The activities of the Para Sailing Academy were warmly welcomed by the sailors gathered on Lake Garda, very intrigued by both the boats and the project. “The participation of young athletes is an important sign of the great work carried out by the Para Sailing Academy”, emphasised Francesco Ettorre, President of the Italian Sailing Federation.

“I find that bringing the Para Sailing Academy to the Youth World Championships is a very positive choice, due to the major message of inclusion that it conveys to the new generations of sailors”, commented Giorgio Pisani, Vice President of IBSA Group. “For IBSA, supporting the Para Sailing Academy means creating a new sensitivity towards issues of collective responsibility, by giving people with disabilities the opportunity to have experiences in close contact with the sea and compete in integrated races. My “fair winds” goes to all the athletes who qualified, to World Sailing and to the Italian Sailing Federation, for the success of this great moment in sport”.