#paralympicsailing – The Irish Sailing Association says it is 'disappointed' Paralympic Sailing has been axed from the 2020 Tokyo Games. The comment follows Afloat.ie's news report on Monday that the sport, which held its world championships in Kinsale in 2013, had been dropped from the Tokyo line–up.
The Irish Sailing Association say they are in communication with ISAF, IFDS, Paralympics Ireland and other Member National Authorities to assess the options.
'At a time when the development of Sailability Ireland is more active than ever before, it is disappointing news to find out that sailing has been dropped from the Paralympics 2020 due to not reaching the minimum criteria for inclusion in the Games as stated in the IPC handbook' the statement from the national governing body says.
Only individual sports and disciplines widely and regularly practised in a minimum of 32 countries and three IPC regions may be considered for inclusion in the Paralympic Games. Only team sports widely and regularly practised in a minimum of 24 countries and three (3) IPC regions will be considered for inclusion in the Paralympic Games.
Recent development has resulted in the regular addition of new countries to competitive sailing. The process of merging with ISAF (with a membership of 139 Member National Authorities) was completed in November of 2014, with the main aim of opening a whole new field for the development of disabled sailing. Through ISAF's development programmes, worldwide participation initiatives and event structure, the opportunities for disabled sailing are better than ever before.
Meanwhile, this morning's Irish Times newspaper reports a possible reprieve for paralympic sailing for the Tokyo 2020 Games could emerge next week when the report by the IPC governing board into the selection criteria is published.
