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Special Olympics Sailing is one of Special Olympics’ newer sports, having been included in the World Games for the first time in 1995. The
1999 Special Olympics World Games will host 72 sailors from 6 countries and 12 states.
Special Olympics Sailing has training and competition opportunities for individual and teams of Special Olympics athletes; as well as, Unified
Sports® teams. Unified Sports® allows athletes with and without mental retardation to compete as part of a crew. There are four levels of
competition within Special Olympics Sailing:
Level 1 (developmental/introductory)
A Unified Sports® event, where the Special Olympics athlete performs the crew duty of head sail trimming.
Level 2
A Unified Sports® event, where a Special Olympics athlete, in addition to the duties outlined in Level 1, will have control of the helm for fifty percent of the race.
The teams may also use a spinnaker.
Level 3
The entire crew consists of Special Olympics athletes.
Level 4
Special Olympics athletes compete single-handed.
Special Olympics teams use dinghy boats, up to seven meters in length. At all national and international regattas both a monohull and a catamaran class boat are
used.
Competition opportunities exist at the local, state, national and international levels. Sailing competition is offered at the quadrennial World Games as a nationally
popular sport. As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are placed in divisions according to ability, age and gender. Training for local, regional and national
competition provides all athletes with opportunities for success.
The Official Special Olympics Sports Rules govern all Special Olympics Sailing competitions. As an international sports program, Special
Olympics has created these rules based upon the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and National Governing Body (NGB) rules for
sailing. ISAF or NGB rules are employed except when they are in conflict with the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules. In such cases, the
Official Special Olympics Sports Rules apply.
Special Olympics is the first organization, other than a National Olympic Committee, to be recognized and endorsed by the International Olympic Committee.
Coaches
Resources
International
Governing Body:
http://www.sailing.org
US Governing Body:
http://www.ussailing.org
Coaches Sailing Guide
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