The Watersports Inclusion Games is a FREE annual weekend event offering a variety of watersports for people of all abilities/disabilities from the physical, sensory, intellectual & learning spectrums and those experiencing barriers accessing mainstream watersports. The 4^th games were held in Lough Derg Yacht club in June 2022 and despite horrendous weather over 146 attendees and 70 volunteers had a wonderful weekend of watersports. The 2023 event has already started planning for Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club in June with Dragon Boats and Tennis being added to the programme.  For more details go to www.sailing.ie/WatersportsInclusion Games.

Sailing for All ASD Innovation Project

Irish Sailing have teamed up with Clare Sports Partnership, Get Autism Active, Anitech Solutions and other key partners on an innovation project to design software that will bridge the communication gap and environmental challenges for children with Autism to learn how to sail using an interactive platform from the comfort of their own home or school environment before attending their on the water training course. With over 1.5% of our population classified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), their own personal challenges to be diagnosed, adequately supported and resourced at home or in school can sometimes make sport too challenging to participate in or left lower on the priority list. Being in the outdoor environment and participating in activities such as watersports are proven to be highly beneficial to people with ASD’s overall physical health and mental wellbeing. While acknowledging the benefits, a significant number of families involved in the project discussed challenges such as aversion to new environments, not liking wetsuits, too much noise, too many new people, fear of water etc. In cooperation with these families the project identified some possible solutions to bring the initial sport into the child’s home or school environment and involve them using interactive technology. The platform shows and tells the student how to sail through a series of videos, where the student may pick the environment, the coach or the voice of the person delivering the training and then using tappable tasks to check for comprehension. Students will then see story boards showing what is ahead for them and then the platform may be used for the coach to engage with the student as required. The platform will also have the capacity for non-verbal communicators to learn and in time will be facilitate them taking command of the boat and leading their crew on board. While some of the families currently request low expectations of results, we believe there is huge potential in this project.

The project is currently being in piloted in Kilrush Marina with the Royal Western Yacht Club county Clare and with Club Mara Chonamara Láir in Galway with plans to scale up the programme to other counties in 2023. For children, families, coaches or clubs and centres interested in founding out more on the Sailing for All Project go to HERE.

To complement all the projects and programmes for people with disabilities or additional needs, Irish Sailing purchased a fleet of various specialised types of boats for Clubs and Centres to charter at a nominal rate. These boats are fully equipped, insured and designed to facilitate various functions and adapt accordingly. The boats are prioritised towards supporting Sport Ireland DAF Inclusive projects and any Club wishing to use the boats may apply to the Inclusion Officer of Irish Sailing with their proposal. The fleet currently consists of the following boats which have been named after Irish Sailors with disabilities who have represented Ireland at International level.

In partnership with Sporting Pride and in the build-up to the European Week of Sport for the month of September Irish Sailing is looking for affiliated Clubs to run Start Sailing Courses for members of the LGBTQI+ Community. This initiative is funded by Sport Ireland Dormant Account Funding and bursaries to cover the costs of running the course will be available and a nominal fee paid by the participant. This will hopefully create new membership opportunities for the Club and any Club keen to be involved in this programme please contact ciaran.murphy@sailing.ie or 087 8800744.