Paralympic sailing suffered a major setback in 2015: the regatta sport practiced at performance level by people with physical limitations was deleted from the program of the Paralympics 2020; all attempts to resume for 2024 have so far failed. "I was horrified and sad," says Heiko Kröger, multiple world champion and silver medalist in the Paralympic boat class 2.4 mR. But the end also holds positive things for him: "The Paralympics created a lobby for sailing for the disabled, which we are now using to promote inclusion sailing."
In concrete terms, this means that disabled sailors should no longer compete with one another, as it were isolated from the rest of the sailing business, but together with everyone - included, included. The sailing sport thus follows the general social trend.
The prerequisite for this are boats that can also be sailed by people with disabilities. We tried two out: the RS Venture Connect and the S / V 14. The aim was not only to find out whether these models are suitable for so-called disabled sailors, but also whether they are suitable for a much broader target group.
"Physical limitations include, for example, a decrease in strength or mobility due to increasing age," says Kröger. "If you look at the demographic pyramid in clubs from this point of view, we have a high proportion of‘ disabled ‘sailors."
