Benefits of Sailability- 21/08/2016

What are the benefits of sailability?

The benefits of sailabilty can be broken down into the benefits for the people that do the sailing and for the centre that offers the sailing. Sailing can offer different oppurtunities to people suffering with a disability. The RYA says on their website " Boating is one of the very few sports in which able-bodied sailors and disabled sailors can participate on equal terms. There are many opportunities for people with a disability to get afloat on all types of boats".(4) Sport and physical activities can improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. There are big physological barrriers between people with disability, due to social stereotypes of sports people. Sailing was introduced in the 2000 paralympics which has boosted the profile of the sport, especially for young people with disabilities. "It is open to athletes with any type of physical impairment and the classification system is based on four factors: stability, hand function, mobility and vision. Athletes compete in three events, which are non-gender specified: single-person keelboats, three-person keelboats and two-person keelboats."(3)

Offering sailing oppurtunities for people with disabilities also can be benefitial to sailing centres and this is what I am more focused on for my study. Adding sailiability to your club can lead to increased participation and membership at the club, therefore leading to more revenue and ultimately opening new doors. " As part of the process of becoming a Sailability site, applicant organisations tick boxes for the types of disabilities they can accommodate, which is held on the RYA database and used to help point interested people in the direction of groups they could participate at, including through the RYA Where’s My Nearest search engine."(2).