{"id":153620,"date":"2024-09-03T10:53:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T09:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=153620"},"modified":"2024-09-03T10:53:19","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T09:53:19","slug":"why-is-there-no-paralympic-sailing-at-paris-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/events-2\/why-is-there-no-paralympic-sailing-at-paris-2024-153620","title":{"rendered":"Why is there no Paralympic Sailing at Paris 2024?"},"content":"

\u201cWhen I\u2019m sailing I go into a different world\u2026it\u2019s like flying.\u201d This is how Hilary Lister described sailing, a sport she discovered in her thirties that took her beyond the limitations of her disability. She went on to become one of the sport\u2019s most inspirational solo sailors.<\/p>\r\n

Born able-bodied, she developed a degenerative condition, reflex sympathetic dystrophy<\/a>, at the age of 15. Yet her increasing disabilities did not stop her from striving for her goals \u2013 she studied biochemistry at Oxford, though during this time lost the use of her legs and had to use a wheelchair. She went on to study for a PhD, but in 1999 lost the use of her arms and was unable to finish her doctorate.<\/p>\r\n

The same year, she married Clifford Lister, a musical director, teacher and soloist.<\/p>\r\n

In 2003, she was introduced to sailing at Westbere Sailing Opportunities near Canterbury.<\/p>\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n\u201cWithin 30 seconds of being in a boat I was in love\u201d, she said. But she found being unable to control the boat herself frustrating and decided to find a way to helm herself. She had also been following the exploits of Emma Richards, who was racing solo round the world in the Around Alone race, and decided she would find a way to sail solo across the Channel.\r\n\r\nWith the help of the UK Sailing Academy in Cowes and Emma Richards\u2019s sponsor, Andrew Pindar (who became an indefatigable supporter of Lister), a Soling was adapted to be sailed using the sip-puff mouth controls that Lister used on her wheelchair. In 2007, she sailed alone round the Isle of Wight, and round the coast of Britain from Plymouth to Dover in 2009.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n\u201cAs we got to know her more and more her bravery and zest shone through,\u201d commented Andrew Pindar. \u2018[That was] exemplified by her rocking up at the Extreme Sailing Series and persuading Olly Smith and Nick Crabtree to strap her to the trampoline before heading out for hull-flying, smile-inducing spins.\r\n\r\n\u2018In 2014 an ocean crossing beckoned as she sailed from Mumbai to Muscat, with a necessary crew this time, on Albert Whitley\u2019s Dragonfly trimaran using a sip and puff system installed by Roger Crabtree.\u2019\r\n\r\nBetween these voyages, she founded Hilary\u2019s Dream Trust, to help other disabled and disadvantaged adults realise similar ambitions.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nLister won many awards and accolades for her achievements, including a Sunday\u00a0Times Sportswoman of the Year Awards and the Royal Cruising Club\u2019s Seamanship Award. Her stepson, Alex Lister, commented on her life: \u201cMy stepmother was the definition of an inspirational woman. I never heard her complain once about her condition or the hand life dealt her. Instead, she turned a challenge into an opportunity and achieved things able-bodied people can only dream of.\r\n\r\n\u201cHer strength of character and desire to make the world a better place for others is a huge source of motivation for me personally. If I can make half the positive impact on the world that she did, I will be a very happy man.\u201d","excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sadly, no Paralympic sailing will be on our screens between the August 28 to September 8 Paralympic Games. With so many other Paralympic events making the cut, I was left wondering why sailing missed out on a spot at Paris 2024. Paralympic sailing debuted in Atlanta 1996 as a demonstration sport and gained full status in Sydney 2000. Paralympic Sailing remained in the Paralympics until its last appearance at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016. Why isn’t there Paralympic sailing? The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said it removed sailing due to its lack of global reach and competitors’ participation. In 2015, the IPC commented sailing ‘did not fulfil the IPC Handbook’s minimum criteria for worldwide reach.’ According to the IPC Handbook, the IPC only considered teams broadly and regularly practising a sport in at least 24 countries and three IPC regions. For individual sports, the requirements were a minimum of 32 countries in three IPC regions. Sadly, sailing fell short. In 2015, Sir Philip Craven, IPC President until 2017, said, ‘To reach this decision, the IPC undertook the most extensive and rigorous review process ever of all the sports which started in November 2013.’ Our next hope to see sailing at the Paralympics is Brisbane 2032, with the IPC saying the sport will miss out on LA 2028. There’s already a campaign underway from Australian Sailing to see the Aussies reinstate the sport at their home Paralympics. Australian Sailing’s CEO Ben Houston promised, ‘We will work with World Sailing to promote Diversity and Inclusion and want to see sailing reinstated for the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics.’ Article continues below… Response from Paralympic sailing community As you might expect, those in the Paralympic sailing world protested the IPC axing the sport. Legendary sailor Sir Robin Knox Johnson responded after the IPC announced their decision, saying he has ‘a very personal connection to Paralympic sailing.’ Sir Knox Johnson explained, ‘In 1995, I was able to persuade the Sports Lottery to fund the UK with money to buy two of the Sonar class keelboats in readiness for sailing’s first ever inclusion in a Paralympic games in 1996 in Atlanta. The UK team went on to win the gold medal. ‘Although it was only a demonstration event, it proved to the International Paralympic Committee sailing was not only a truly fully inclusive sport, but the sailors who took part from around the world are true athletes. Since then I have followed every Paralympic games and watched with amazement as these incredible athletes sail their boats to the highest of standards. I would be proud to sail with any one of them.’ Sailor Geoff Holt MBE, who lobbied for the original inclusion of sailing in the 1996 Paralympics, responded to the IPC excluding sailing by stating on his website, ‘These athletes are more than just sailors, they are role models. As a disabled person myself, we need role models who we can identify with. Role models inspire the next generation of sailors, be they just recreational …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5167,"featured_media":153632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1540,68],"tags":[411,162],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153620"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153683,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153620\/revisions\/153683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153620"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=153620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}