Paralympic Sailing

WPNSA, Osprey Quay, Portland, Dorset
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This event ended on Thursday 6th of September 2012
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WPNSA, Osprey Quay, Portland, Dorset

80 Athletes compete for 3 gold medals

Disabled athletes have been participating in sailing event since the early 1980s. In fact, the very first International Handicap Trophy Regatta was first held in Switzerland, although others followed shortly in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

Despite the seeming popularity of the sport it wasn't until the 1992 Olympics that sailing was introduced as a Paralympic demonstration sport. Since then, it has gained considerable popularity and is one of the only sports where disabled participants compete alongside able-bodied participants at an international level.

Each race has nine runs. Each run can take up to one hour to finish. The courses tend to follow an out and back route although this is not essential. At the end of each run the winner is awarded one point, second place is awarded two points and third place is awarded three points. Once all nine runs have been completed, the team or individual with the lowest number of points is declared the winner.

Sailing as a Paralympic sport was only introduced as a full medal sport in 2000. The rules are the same as they are for able bodied competitors; however, there are certain adaptations that need to take place to the equipment. This will naturally depend on the disability of the competitor. Most of these adaptations involve increasing the stability of the boats. Sailing for disabled competitors has become increasingly popular and now attracts competitors from around the globe.

Tags: Sport

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