Sailability Australia
Encyclopedia
Sailability Australia is a non-profit, volunteer organisation which provides people with any type of disability, the elderly, the financially and socially disadvantaged, with sailing
activities and education to children and adults of all ages and abilities. Operating in every state and territory, coordinated by a national committee of Yachting Australia.
for people with disabilities in social, recreational and competitive activities. The specific objectives of Yachting Australia’s Sailability Committee are:
All registered members are welcome on regular sail days conducted most weekends except mid-winter. In addition, virtually every Sailability branch or program caters for folk who attends special schools and agencies. Most have scheduled weekday sail days.
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2000 Access dinghies are being sailed in 30 countries. The Access range of four different designs provides a pathway from leisure sailing all the way to the Paralympics using the SKUD 18 the first two person boat to be accepted into the Paralympics. Special Olympics
is another direction for talented sailors with intellectual disabilities.
Features include roller-reefing on main and jib sails for easy size adjustment, ballasted centre-board so that the boat cannot capsize, a concave hull for additional stability, and control lines for sails which fit into easy-action clam cleats.
Within a number of Sailability programs, there are a number of keelboats. The Sonar and Salvo 24 (Payne) can take several crew with moderate disabilities. These boats are popular in more open waters and also for larger mid-week disability groups with the emphasis a fun day on the water. The 2.4mR is a Paralympic class solo craft.
Sailability Australia is the Australian arm of the international Sailability movement. Australian sailors with disabilities are represented nationally by delegates on Yachting Australia’s Sailability Committee (nominated by the eight State/Territory Yachting Associations) and internationally through Yachting Australia’s membership of Sailability World, the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) and the Australian Paralympic Committee.
Sailability Australia is one of 16 national Sailability organisations. The Sailability movement has close operational links with the Access Class Association, Special Olympics Australia (Sailing), and Blind Sailing Australia.
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
activities and education to children and adults of all ages and abilities. Operating in every state and territory, coordinated by a national committee of Yachting Australia.
Objectives
Sailability Australia's key objective is to encourage and facilitate sailing and boating throughout AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for people with disabilities in social, recreational and competitive activities. The specific objectives of Yachting Australia’s Sailability Committee are:
- To serve as a national body to advance opportunities within yachting (sailing and boating) for people with disabilities.
- To promote the inclusion of people with disabilities within all mainstream yachting activities.
- To promote yachting as fun, safe and rewarding activities in which people with disabilities can participate.
- To develop national safety and procedural policies for Sailability activities.
- To develop and promote accredited training opportunities for persons involved in Sailability activities.
- To develop and promote regattas and championship events at the national level for people with disabilities in association with affiliated bodies of the Australian Yachting Federation.
- To liaise with sporting, health and educational bodies, government agencies and other relevant organisations to further the interests of Sailability Australia.
- Facilitate communication on Sailability issues with (State & Territory) Member Yachting Associations
- Promote Sailability as a key avenue for building broad participation in yachting in accordance with Yachting Australia’s Strategic Plan.
Developing an integrated sailing program
For both volunteers and sailors, Yachting Australia and Sailability Australia is working with Sailability organisations and Member Yachting Associations to adopt a uniform approach to training, integration, pathways etc. Part of the mission of Sailability Australia is to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities within all sailing activities. The emphasis is on sailing for its fun, straightforward instruction and affordability. This means growing the number of mainstream yacht clubs that conduct inclusive sailing programs. This sometimes means a change of attitude at yacht clubs. Yachting Australia is also working with larger yacht clubs where this is no Sailability program with Project Connect to make club members aware of their responsibilities.All registered members are welcome on regular sail days conducted most weekends except mid-winter. In addition, virtually every Sailability branch or program caters for folk who attends special schools and agencies. Most have scheduled weekday sail days.
Sailing Equipment
Sailability collaborates with boat designers for the supply of sailing dinghies that are accessible and user-friendly. Access is the most popular design amongst Sailability sailors. Australian-designed Access dinghies incorporate user -friendly features and optional modifications. Applications suit from able bodied to severely disabled and everyone in between. Access dinghies have been designed on the seven principles of Universal DesignUniversal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....
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2000 Access dinghies are being sailed in 30 countries. The Access range of four different designs provides a pathway from leisure sailing all the way to the Paralympics using the SKUD 18 the first two person boat to be accepted into the Paralympics. Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
is another direction for talented sailors with intellectual disabilities.
Features include roller-reefing on main and jib sails for easy size adjustment, ballasted centre-board so that the boat cannot capsize, a concave hull for additional stability, and control lines for sails which fit into easy-action clam cleats.
Within a number of Sailability programs, there are a number of keelboats. The Sonar and Salvo 24 (Payne) can take several crew with moderate disabilities. These boats are popular in more open waters and also for larger mid-week disability groups with the emphasis a fun day on the water. The 2.4mR is a Paralympic class solo craft.
Volunteering and support
With the exception of a part-time administration person in WA (RPYC) and Victoria (Yachting), Sailability is totally volunteer-operated. Volunteers are needed on boats, on the pontoon, barbecue or in administration. Sailability survives largely by the generosity of the community. The public can help fund the growth of Sailability in by becoming a donor or sponsor to a local branch or program. Sailability is a registered charity, so donations are tax-deductible.Sailability organisation
Sailability comprises eight state associations, coordinated through Yachting Australia. Each is not for profit, each a registered charity, Around 65 Sailability programs are operating in Australia, wworking with yachting associations, yacht and sailing clubs, disability networks and boat designers. Some 50,000 sailing experiences are provided per year.Sailability Australia is the Australian arm of the international Sailability movement. Australian sailors with disabilities are represented nationally by delegates on Yachting Australia’s Sailability Committee (nominated by the eight State/Territory Yachting Associations) and internationally through Yachting Australia’s membership of Sailability World, the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) and the Australian Paralympic Committee.
Sailability Australia is one of 16 national Sailability organisations. The Sailability movement has close operational links with the Access Class Association, Special Olympics Australia (Sailing), and Blind Sailing Australia.
External links
History
| 1991 | Sailability started in Australia by Victorian Yachting Council (VYC). |
| 1994 | National conference on disabled sailing (auspiced by the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF), VYC and Australian Sports Commission) in Melbourne. |
| 1995 | Sailability Australia formed by all State/Territory Yachting Associations (except Northern Territory, which joined later) as a standing committee of AYF. |
| Phil Vardy appointed National Chairman, Sailability Australia. | |
| (20–24 November) First Australian Disabled Sailing Three-Person Keelboat Championship at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron | |
| First National Access Dinghy Championships held | |
| David Adams, Around-the-World Sailor and 1995 AYF Sailor of the Year, became Patron of Sailability NSWmple | |
| 1998 | First 2.4mR National Championship held at Pittwater |
| 1999 | 24’ Salvo class developed in Australia by David Payne, and built by the Salvation Army for Sailability under the Work-for-the-Dole Scheme |
| 2000 | Australian Vinnie Lauwers completes first world circumnavigation by a disabled sailor – solo, unassisted and non-stop. |
| Australians Noel Robins, Jamie Dunross and Graeme Martin win Gold in the Sydney 2000 Paralympics (Three-person keelboat event), later awarded OAMs | |
| Three world records set for disabled sailing at International Access Dinghy Championships, at Lake Tuggeranong ACT. 1. Greatest number of boats of single class in disabled regatta - (78 x Access 2.3) 2. Greatest proportion of female sailors in a disabled regatta (30.77%). 3. Greatest number of female sailors in a disabled regatta (24) | |
| Nava George became the first ventilated quadriplegic in history to sail solo – on Sydney Harbour. | |
| 2004 | Sailability Australia re-formed under former YA president Bruce Dickson AM as a committee of Yachting Australia |
| First IFDS Single Person World Championships held Blairgowrie Victoria. | |
| The late Andrew Hartley (below) became the first ventilated quadriplegic to compete in a World Championships in any sport | |
| 2005 | Terry Peek (ACT), Allan Jones (Pittwater) awarded Order of Australia Medals (OAMs) for outstanding service to sailors with disabilities |
| Yachting Australia Awards: Jackie Kay received Services to Yachting Award for development of sailing for people with disability. | |
| Paul Borg, Don Scott winners YA Sailors of the Year with a Disability | |
| Jeff Milligan, Jamie Dunross, Colin Harrison (Sailability Perth) win YA Sailor of the Year with a Disability. | |
| Sailability NSW celebrates 10th anniversary with a “Sailabration” on and beside Sydney Harbour, hosted by Sailability Rushcutters Bay. | |
| 2006 | Australian and International Access Dinghy Championships, part of Volvo Ocean Race Melbourne Stopover. Jackie Kay awarded Order of Australia (AM) for services to sailors with disabilities. Graeme Adam receives YA award for services to sailing for the disabled through the media. |
| 2007 | Dr Phil Vardy won YA Award for services to sailors with a disability |
| First time sailing an official Australian Special Olympics Summer Sport. | |
| 2008 | Sailability members strongly represented in Paralympics with silver for SKUD crew; Daniel Fitzgibbon and Rachael Cox awarded Yachting Australia Sailors of the Year with a Disability |
| 2009 | More than 60 Sailability branches or programs around Australia. |
| Eli Demeny awarded Order of Australia for services to sailing for persons with disabilities | |
| Yachting Australia’s Sailor of the Year with a Disability Award shared by Brisbane’s Daniel Fitzgibbon and Perth’s Rachael Cox | |
| 2010 | Sailability NSW marks the 15th anniversary of its establishment |
| Jamie Dunross (Sailability@RPYC) circumnavigates Australia | |
| Angus MacGregor from Queensland receives YA award for Sailor of the Year with a Disability | |
| 2011 | Neil Anderson, former President of Sailability NSW, appointed Chairman of National Sailability Committee of Yachting Australia, replacing Bruce Dickson who served in this position for seven years |