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Jul 22, 2010, 1:44 PM
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Blind event in the Paralympic Sailing Competition?
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I write to advise that International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) has now formally requested the agreement of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to introduce an exciting new discipline to the Paralympic Sailing Competition commencing 2016. Active blind & vision impaired sailors and blind sailing organizations were consulted in the preparation of this proposal.
In essence, the IFDS Proposal is for a Blind Match Racing Discipline and specifies:
- Equipment: 23 foot Sonar keelboat (selected equipment for the Three-Person discipline through to 2016).
- Racing Format: One or two round-robins followed by semi-finals and finals. Estimated competition duration is 6 days.
- Nations and Athlete Numbers: 8-10 National entries comprised of 24-30 athletes.
- Classification – Sailors classified as B1, B2 or B3 under the IBSA Classification System would be eligible to compete. A collective points system would allow flexibility in the make-up of teams. 5 point maximum.
- Crew Configuration: The helmsperson would be classification B1. The mainsheet trimmer and forward hand may be any classification provided the collective maximum points are not exceeded.
- Mixed (minimum one female and one male).
- Rules: ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix CBS.
The 2011 International Blind Match Racing Championships in Perth, Western Australia, will be the first event using the proposed format. Subject to approval by the IPC, it is anticipated that a series of annual events (including nation qualifiers in 2014 & 2015) would be included in the IFDS events calendar. Due to the IPC processes for assessing the application, it is not expected that IFDS will be in a position to advise the outcome of its application until early 2011.
Many thanks to all of you for your contributions to this important step. To a large extent, it is now a matter of keeping our fingers crossed.
Regards.
David Staley
Vice-President
International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS)
Website: www.sailing.org/disabled
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