World Sailing: Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025

As we close the book on 2024, I reflect on a year filled with progress, collaboration, and milestones. 2024 was a big year for Para Inclusive sailing.

 Together, we launched World Sailing’s Para Inclusive Strategy 2024-2029, a transformative new vision to grow participation, elevate inclusion, and deliver lasting impact in our sport.

 We saw multiple world champions crowned in our Para classes and showcased that sailing really is a sport for everyone.

 This year also proved the power of our global community through plenty of regional and international activity.

 The Hansa class held their full calendar of regional events; The America’s Championships hosted by Coronado Yacht Club USA, the Europeans in Sneek, Netherlands, and finally the Asia Pacific Championships, hosted by Southport Yacht Club, Australia. Each event celebrated diversity in sailing and showcased great accessibility.

The Blind Match Racing World Championship, in Sciez, France, revived this area of our sport as we saw eight teams from five countries fight for the title. Blind Sailing is very much a part of our community, and it is great to see the activity on the water.

 The 2.4mR World Championship was hosted by Kiel Yacht Club in Germany. The former sailor representative of the Para World Sailing Committee Heiko Kroger took the title home once again.

 We also welcomed Deaf Sailing to the Para Inclusive community. The World Championship, hosted in Lithuania, highlighted the breadth of inclusive competition across the globe.

 Further afield, India hosted its first National Inclusive Regatta - a direct legacy of the 2023 Inclusive Development Programme (IDP), demonstrating the lasting impact of our programmes.

Barcolana featured the Hansa 303 and 2.4mR classes racing at the heart of the event, embodying inclusion and reaffirming the message that “we are all in the same boat”.

 The RS Venture Connect World Championships and the RS21 International Inclusion event became a defining moment for our strategy, showcasing what happens when we remove the barriers to participation.

 Meanwhile, our IDP flourished with three clinics delivered in 2024, delivering training in safeguarding, anti-doping, and performance to 84 participants across three continents.

 We also saw the launch of the Asian Inclusive Sailing Series following 2023’s IDP in Singapore. A huge thanks to the support of Metazone which created regional competition and opportunity for the community.

We saw the publication of World Sailing’s Accessibility Guidelines under Agenda 2030 and the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Classification Code Review, which will guide fair competition starting in 2025.

 Finally, the Para World Sailing Committee concluded its tenure at the Annual Conference held in Singapore. I would like to offer special thanks to Betsy Alison, whose decade of leadership shaped and strengthened our community.

 As we embark on 2025, our focus sharpens on the fourth pillar of the strategy: Re-inclusion in the Paralympic Games. The process for inclusion will be confirmed by the IPC later this year - possibly at their annual conference this October - with a submission date around July 2026. We are in frequent contact with the IPC and, once they have confirmed the process, I will share further details with subscribers.

 World Sailing received positive feedback from the IPC following the LA2028 decision - in January 2023 - and we have been working since then on addressing the issues they highlighted, all of which was included in the World Sailing Para Inclusive strategy. We have made good progress in terms of global participation, competition structures and governance matters including anti-doping and safeguarding.

 This mission requires a unified effort from sailors, classes, supporters, and stakeholders. Together we can share resources, amplify opportunities, and make meaningful progress. 

We saw the publication of World Sailing’s Accessibility Guidelines under Agenda 2030 and the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) Classification Code Review, which will guide fair competition starting in 2025.

 Finally, the Para World Sailing Committee concluded its tenure at the Annual Conference held in Singapore. I would like to offer special thanks to Betsy Alison, whose decade of leadership shaped and strengthened our community.

 As we embark on 2025, our focus sharpens on the fourth pillar of the strategy: Re-inclusion in the Paralympic Games. The process for inclusion will be confirmed by the IPC later this year - possibly at their annual conference this October - with a submission date around July 2026. We are in frequent contact with the IPC and, once they have confirmed the process, I will share further details with subscribers.

 World Sailing received positive feedback from the IPC following the LA2028 decision - in January 2023 - and we have been working since then on addressing the issues they highlighted, all of which was included in the World Sailing Para Inclusive strategy. We have made good progress in terms of global participation, competition structures and governance matters including anti-doping and safeguarding.

 This mission requires a unified effort from sailors, classes, supporters, and stakeholders. Together we can share resources, amplify opportunities, and make meaningful progress.

We are all in the same boat. Let’s sail forward together.

 Happy Sailing,