Ireland are again in fouth place of the nine contenders for one of six remaining places on the start line at the Paralympics in Rio next year.

In challenging conditions the Irish Paralympic Sonar Sailing team fell back two places today to 9th overall with a 6th and 8th place in races seven and eight of this eleven race regatta.

Following the squalls and high winds of yesterday afternoon and with a forecast for further high winds this afternoon the race committee decided to bring forward the time of racing today today from 13.00 to 11.00 so as to avoid the front.
With three more races to go, John Twomey, Skipper of the Irish Sonar Paralymic team, said: "What a shifty Day with wind speed between 2 and 18 knots and 35 degree wind shifts. A 6th and 8th place finish in the 2 races reflected our conservative approach to this regatta. We consolidated our qualification position for Rio 2016. That is the big prize we came here for."
Today also saw a widening of the gap within the Sonar fleet where the difference in finishing times between the first and last boat averaged at least eight minutes which is significant at this high level of competitive racing. The final two days of racing have all the signs of some further great competition on the water.
Among the 18 boats in the Sonar fleet, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Greece and Norway have already booked their place at Rio 2016.
However Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and the US Virgin Islands will be chasing the remaining six spots on offer, with three teams set to miss out on berths for the Games.
The Irish Paralympic Sailing Team comprising John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll is campaigning to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. This final qualifying event is being hosted by one of the oldest sailing clubs in Australia, the Royal Yacht Club Victoria, Williamstown, Melbourne from November 28th to the 3rd of December 2015. The event comprises of eleven races, two for each of the first five days with the final race on Dec 3rd.
The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two sails keelboat. The Irish team are currently ranked 5th in the world.
Entries from 31 countries and 81 boats comprising 142 sailors are competing for just 35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR (single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the Sonar (three person boat).

In total, 35 athletes, across three fleets of boats will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs.

The Irish Paralympic Sailors jump two places and lie second of nine contenders for one of six places on the start line in Rio next year. The Sonar Sailing team jumped two places today to 7th overall with a 4th in both races at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.

The first race for all three fleets of boats was run in a warm northerly breeze of 15 knots or so, with gusts of up to 20 knots. However, in the second race, the breeze built quickly with challenging conditions for all sailors. The very strong gusts, reported at 30 knots, caught many crews unawares, with spectacular results. Two of the boats in the Skud sailing fleet broke their masts and had to be towed ashore unable to finish their second race of the day.
With five more races to go, Austin O'Carroll, one of the crew of the Irish Paralympic team said: "We are at last competing at the very top of the fleet. We are really pleased but need to keep plugging in those top results."
Apart from the leading boat, Australia, scores are still quite close in this fleet and give the promise of some further great competition over the next three days.
Among the 18 boats in the Sonar fleet, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Greece and Norway have already booked their place at Rio 2016.
However Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and the US Virgin Islands will be chasing the remaining six spots on offer, with three teams set to miss out on berths for the Games.
The Irish Paralympic Sailing Team comprising John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll is campaigning to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. This final qualifying event is being hosted by one of the oldest sailing clubs in Australia, the Royal Yacht Club Victoria, Williamstown, Melbourne from November 28th to the 3rd of December 2015. The event comprises of eleven races, two for each of the first five days with the final race on Dec 3rd.
The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two sails keelboat. The Irish team are currently ranked 5th in the world.
Racing out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne, competitors are seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in the Paralymic Games in Rio, Brazil 2016. The Irish team need to secure a place in the top six overall in this championship to secure their place on the start line in Rio de Janeiro next year.
Entries from 31 countries and 81 boats comprising 142 sailors are competing for just 35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR (single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the Sonar (three person boat).

In total, 35 athletes, across three fleets of boats will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs.

Irish Paralympic Sailors are still in contention for a place on the start line in Rio next year and remain in a mid–fleet position in the Australian 2015 Para Worlds Sailing Championships in their bid for a place on the start line in Rio next year.

Perfect sailing conditions continued in Port Phillip bay for races three and four of the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships out of Williamstown’s Royal Yacht Club of Victoria.

The breeze was generally southerly, starting at around eight knots and steadily building to approximately 12 knots in the later afternoon.

After four races, Ireland's paralympic sailors lie in 9th place, in the middle of the fleet, at the end of day two at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia. More importantly, of the nations seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in Rio next year at the paralympics, Ireland are still in fourth position out of a possible six places.

With seven more races to go, Ian Costelloe, one of the crew of the Irish Paralympic team said: "It was a great day for sailing, the competition is really though here but we are sailing really well. Our first race today went okay for us; we played it well, but unfortunately the second race today was a bit tricker and we came out the wrong side of a windshift. But other than that we are happy with our progress and there's still a lot of sailing to be done."
Scores are quite close in this fleet and give the promise of some further great competition over the next four days.
Among the 18 boats in the Sonar fleet, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Greece and Norway have already booked their place at Rio 2016.

However Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and the US Virgin Islands will be chasing the remaining six spots on offer, with three teams set to miss out on berths for the Games.
The Irish Paralympic Sailing Team comprising John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll is campaigning to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. This final qualifying event is being hosted by one of the oldest sailing clubs in Australia, the Royal Yacht Club Victoria, Williamstown, Melbourne from November 28th to the 3rd of December 2015. The event comprises of eleven races, two for each of the first five days with the final race on Dec 3rd.

The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two sails keelboat. The Irish team are currently ranked 5th in the world. Racing out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne, competitors are seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in the Paralymic Games in Rio, Brazil 2016. The Irish team need to secure a place in the top six overall in this championship to secure their place on the start line in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Entries from 31 countries and 81 boats comprising 142 sailors are competing for just 35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR (single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the Sonar (three person boat).

In total, 35 athletes, across three fleets of boats will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs.

Irish Paralympic Sailors at the end of day one lie mid fleet in the 2015 Para Worlds Sailing Championships in their bid for a place on the start line in Rio next year.

In beautiful sailing conditions of 11-14 knots of wind, with bright blue skies Ireland's paralympic sailors lie in 9th place at the end of day one, in the middle of the fleet at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia. More importantly, of the nations seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in Rio next year at the paralympics, Ireland are in 4th position out of a possible six places.
With nine more races to go, John Twomey, Skipper of the three man Sonar crew said: "We had a good start today, with a hard earned 4th place in race 1. Our 2nd race was costly, as on the first beat (sailing upwind) the wind filled in better on the left side of the course while we chose the right hand side. The fleet was extremely compact in both races. A good day tomorrow is essential."
Among the 18 boats in the Sonar fleet, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Greece and Norway have already booked their place at Rio 2016.
However Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and the US Virgin Islands will be chasing the remaining six spots on offer, with three teams set to miss out on berths for the Games.
The Irish Paralympic Sailing Team comprising John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll is campaigning to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. This final qualifying event is being hosted by one of the oldest sailing clubs in Australia, the Royal Yacht Club Victoria, Williamstown, Melbourne from November 28th to the 3rd of December 2015. The event comprises of eleven races, two for each of the first five days with the final race on Dec 3rd.
The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two sails keelboat. The Irish team are currently ranked 5th in the world. Racing out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne, competitors are seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in the Paralymic Games in Rio, Brazil 2016. The Irish team need to secure a place in the top six overall in this championship to secure their place on the start line in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Entries from 31 countries and 81 boats comprising 142 sailors are competing for just 35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR (single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the Sonar (three person boat).

In total, 35 athletes, across three fleets of boats will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs.

Irish Paralympic Sailors ready to compete in the 2015 Para Worlds Sailing Championships in Australia for a place on the start line in Rio next year. The three sailors are ready for the challenge that awaits them when racing commences this Saturday at the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships in Williamstown, Melbourne, Australia.

Among the 18 boats in the Sonar fleet, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Greece and Norway begin the Championships having already booked their place at Rio 2016.

However Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United States and the US Virgin Islands will be chasing the remaining six spots on offer, with three teams set to miss out on berths for the Games.
The Irish Paralympic Sailing Team comprising John Twomey, Ian Costello and Austin O'Carroll is campaigning to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. This final qualifying event is taking place in Melbourne, Australia from November 28th to the 3rd of December 2015.
The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two sails keelboat. The Irish team are currently ranked 5th in the world. Racing out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne, competitors are seeking to qualify for a place on the start line in the Paralymic Games in Rio, Brazil 2016. The Irish team need to secure a place in the top six overall in this championship to secure their place on the start line in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Entries from over 30 countries and over 80 boats comprising 140 sailors are competing for just 35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR (single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the Sonar (three person boat).

The 2.4mR the biggest fleet in Melbourne with 45 entries whilst the Two-Person Keelboat, the SKUD18, and the Three Person Keelboat, the Sonar, have 18 entries each. In total, 140 sailors and 70 coaches are in Melbourne with eyes focused on taking gold and securing a place on the Rio 2016 start line.

In total, 35 athletes will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs.

Irish Paralympic Sailors, John Twomey, Ian Costelloe and Austin O’Carroll have set off for Melbourne, Australia to compete in the 2015 Para Worlds Sailing Championships and a place on the start line in Rio next year.

The team compete in the 23 foot Sonar Class, which for Paralympic events is a two sails keelboat. The Irish team came 3rd in the ISAF sailing world-cup in Weymouth June 2015 and are currently ranked 5th in the world.

The final qualifying event takes place in Melbourne Australia from November 28th to the 3rd of December 2015.

The Irish team will spend nearly four weeks in Australia as part of the qualifying preparation for the RIO 2016 Paralympic Games. The 2015 Para World Sailing Championships hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria will take place in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia. This event is the final qualifier for the RIO 2016 Paralympic Games.

Entries from over 30 countries and over 80 boats comprising 140 sailors will be competing for just 35 places to participate in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil next year. The fleet of sailors across three different types of boats include 45 sailing the 2.4mR (single person boat), 18 sailing the SKUD 18 (two person boat) and 18 sailing the Sonar (three person boat).

Racing out of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown, a small suburb of Melbourne, competitors will be gunning for the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Sailing Competition with the stakes as high as they could possibly be.

The 2.4mR will be the biggest fleet in Melbourne with 45 entries whilst the Two-Person Keelboat, the SKUD18, and the Three Person Keelboat, the Sonar, have 18 entries each. In total, 140 sailors and 70 coaches will be in Melbourne with eyes focused on taking gold and securing a place on the Rio 2016 start line.

In total, 35 athletes will book their spot at Rio 2016 in Melbourne. Seven spots in the 2.4mR, five in the SKUD18 and six in the Sonar will be up for grabs.

Irish Sonar Team Crew Profiles
John Twomey, from Ballinhassig Co. Cork, has been sailing since 1979, having competed in 10 Paralympic Games. Winning a Gold medal in Seoul 1988 and Bronze medal in Great Britain 1984 while throwing the discus and he has competed in the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympics in sailing. If he successfully qualifies for Rio 2016 this will be his 11th Paralympic Games.

Ian Costello, from Killorglin Co. Kerry, has been sailing since 2009 having competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games finishing in 7th place with several top 10 finishes including a 2nd place finish in the penultimate race. Ian is an avid sportsman partaking in several long distance cycling events as well as Gaelic football and soccer.

Austin O'Carroll from Dublin is a GP in inner city Dublin. He has a deep interest in Health Inequalities. Austin has been sailing since 1983 and is pursuing his first Paralympic Games. Austin is the most recent member to join the team but has brought a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team. Austin is also a keen cyclist.

#sailingolympics – The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) decision to drop sailing from the 2020 Paralympics is a wake-up call for the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). While the commentary talks about failures on the part of IFDS, the real issue seems to be sailing's lack of penetration into national sports programmes. Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee, said sailing did "not fulfil the IPC handbook's minimum criteria for worldwide reach."

Last October, Water Rat commented as follows about the modern sailing world: ISAF is still very much a white, first world, wealthy organisation, with little outreach to the developing world. The same is true of the International Federation for Disabled Sailing. And all the participating countries can complain all they like, but until more disabled sailing programmes are established in the developing world their pleas will fall on deaf ears. It is tough to establish such programmes when equipment and access are such an important part of getting afloat, but such is the reality.

Is there a parallel with mainstream sailing. Well, it's not just about numbers, because ISAF has those with 140+ affiliated Member National Authorities, but many of those don't turn up at events, The Youth Worlds, for example, gets about 60 MNAs participating, well less than half the total affiliated number. Squash, one of the candidate sports for 2020 has a similar amount and although another of the candidate sports, softball has less, they have much greater activity in the developing nations in Africa and central America and Caribbean. Wushu, a martial art candidate sport, claims 147 affiliated nations.

And while it is not believed that sailing is under serious threat for 2024, it is not currently because of its lack of universality, rather that it is lower down the list than say, equestrian, synchronised swimming or pentathlon. Indeed pressure may come off sailing as some sports are facing dropping disciplines in an attempt to make the games more relevant, Athletics could well lose walking and triple jump for example, while rhythmic gymnastics could also go.

However, neither the paralympic or the mainstream sailing community will be impressed by ISAF's latest statement regarding their review of the IPC decision, which, albeit perhaps unintentionally, suggests that ISAF has accepted the IPC's 2020 decision and intends to concentrate on 2024 re-instatement. It is to be hoped that ISAF are now alive to the pressures on sailing's survival as an Olympic Sport.

#paralympicsailing – The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will feature 22 sports, with badminton and taekwondo included for the first time. Two sports not included in Tokyo 2020 are football 7-a-side and sailing.

Ireland has been at the forefront of paralympic sailing hosting the International Federation of Disabled Sailing (IFDS) Paralympic worlds in Kinsale in County Cork in 2013. IFDS president John Twomey (58) of Kinsale has represented Ireland at an astonishing ten successive Paralympics, dating back to Toronto in 1976 in both discus and sailing disciplines.

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has been one of the first to issue a statement over the cut: 'This is hugely disappointing news for the sport of disabled sailing worldwide, for British Sailing Team athletes who are already working hard towards Tokyo, and is a loss to the Paralympic Games itself as sailing provides a unique element to the sporting programme'.

At its meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Saturday (31 January), the IPC Governing Board approved a further six sports for inclusion in the Games, adding to the 16 sports that were ratified and announced after its meeting in October 2014. A maximum of 23 sports could have been included for 2020.

The 22 sports that will be included in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are: athletics, archery, badminton, boccia, canoe, cycling, equestrian, football 5-a-side, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

#ifds – Kinsale's John Twomey finished in the top half of the Sonar fleet at the Disabled Sailing World Championships and first 2016 Paralympic qualification Nova Scotia in Canada yesterday. Twomey, sailing with Ian Costelloe and Austin O'Carroll, was ninth from 18 starters. The sole Irish crew competing took their best result of second in the opening race of seven. A lack of consistency left means the Twomey crew leave Canada two places short of qualifying Ireland for Rio. The Kinsale Yacht Club trio have another shot at Paralympic qualification in 2015.

British sailors came away with two silver medals and the maximum three qualifying berths for the 2016 Paralympic Games at the conclusion of the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championships in Halifax, Canada, today (24 August).

Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell missed out on a sixth consecutive world title by the narrowest of margins in the two-person SKUD class, while Helena Lucas claimed silver in the 2.4mR class, just one point from overall winner Heiko Kroeger of Germany.

Their podium finishes, plus a fourth place by the British Sonar trio of John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas, ensured that Great Britain earned qualification across the three Paralympic classes for the Rio 2016 Games at the first time of asking.

Defending SKUD World Champions Rickham and Birrell finished their regatta tied on points with the Australian Paralympic Champions Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch, but lost on countback after the 11-race series.

Final top three:

Sonar
1. Bruno Jourdren / Nicolas Vimont-Vicary / Eric Flageul, FRA, 21 points
2. Paul Tingley / Scott Lutes / Logan Campbell, CAN, 25
3. Colin Harrison / Jonathan Harris / Russell Boaden, AUS, 26

SKUD 18
1. Daniel Fitzgibbon / Liesl Tesch, AUS, 21
2. Alexandra Rickham / Niki Birrell, GBR, 21
3. Marco Gualandris / Marta Zanetti, ITA, 28

2.4mR
1. Heiko Kroeger, GER, 37
2. Helena Lucas, GBR, 38
3. Damien Seguin, FRA, 39

Kinsale Yacht Club Perpetual Trophy (The Nations Cup)
1. Australia
2. Great Britain
3. Canada
4. United States
5. Italy
6. Spain
7. New Zealand

#ifds – The IFDS World Sailing Championships gets underway at Kinsale Yacht Club in County Cork this weekend led by John Twomey, ten-time Irish Paralympian and current President of the International Federation of Disabled Sailing.

"Over the years fellow sailors have listened to me talking about Ireland and the beauty of Kinsale and the west cork region so when Kinsale won the bid to host this event, friends from all over the world committed to travelling" Stated John Twomey, Paralympic sailor.

In addition to the participants and families, Kinsale has been visited by a number of Diplomatic delegations from Russia and the Czech Republic with further visits planned from other Ambassadors including the Australian and Dutch delegations over the coming week. Carlo Croce, President of ISAF (International Sailing Association Federation) will visit Kinsale for the final days racing, as will a number of international TV crews who are filming documentaries on the event.

The event will be officially opened on Sunday 25th August at 6pm in the James O'Neill Memorial building in the centre of Kinsale by Mayor of Kinsale Cllr Tony Cierans and Cork MEP Brian Crowley. A parade to Kinsale Yacht Club to present nation's flags will follow the official opening.

There will be a practice race on Sunday 25th August at noon and racing will commence on Monday 26th August with two races scheduled daily starting at 12 noon until Friday 30th August.

 The organising committee, led by Regatta Director John Stallard, have been working solidly for over two years to host this major event. Kinsale Yacht Club was redeveloped in the last year without grants and public funding and €800,000 was invested through fundraising by the members and a bank loan that was secured.

Kinsale Marina has been closed to visiting boats for the duration of the event and berth holders were asked to relocate their boats for up to three weeks as approximately one third of the marina was required to host the competing boats and support boats.

"We are very grateful to the Kinsale Yacht Club members who have assisted the organising committee but this is also much bigger than just a sailing event. Cork County Council and every business owner in the town has worked with us so we can showcase Kinsale and so that all our visitors can enjoy our wonderful tourism product" stated John Stallard, Event Director.

Over 100 people have volunteered for the week for various roles from meet & greet, stewards, race office, administration and on the water support.

Earlier this week the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), together with the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS), announced the four 'Ones to Watch' athletes for the World Championships and upcoming Paralympic cycle. The IPC's 'Ones to Watch' initiative showcases the top athletes around the world on the road to the next Paralympic Games, and all four of the identified sailors have won medals on the Paralympic stage with their stories have increasingly become known throughout the media. All four athletes will be competing in Kinsale next week.

 Headlining the list is Great Britain's Helena Lucas, the gold medallist in the 2.4mR single-person keelboat at London 2012. She was the only female athlete competing in her event at the last Paralympics and has become a household name in Great Britain for her performance on the Weymouth waters. Germany's Heiko Kroeger joins Lucas on the list as another athlete in the single-person keelboat event. Kroeger finished second behind Lucas at London 2012, but the Sydney 2000 Paralympic champion is a veteran in the sport, and with Audi sponsoring him is aiming to reach the top of the podium in Rio for the first time in 16 years.

The final two selections – Norway's Aleksander Wang-Hansen and the Netherlands' Udo Hessels – compete in the sonar three-person keelboat event. Hessels, who won the event in London with teammates Marcel van de Veen and Mischa Rossen, has been sailing competitively since he was 25, when he took up the sport as part of his rehabilitation after suffering a spinal-cord injury due to a tumour in his back. Wang-Hansen finished with the bronze medal at London 2012 and comes from a sporting family. He is the older brother of Sebastian Wang-Hansen, who competed at the London 2012 Olympics in windsurfing, and he is the cousin a Mats Wang-Hansen, who was a world champion in sailing back in 2000.