Australian Sailing has recently announced the members of the 2019 Australian Para Sailing Squad.

“Australian Sailing is pleased to be able to support a small number of dedicated athletes to compete at the Para World Sailing Championships in Spain during July”, said Para Sailing Coordinator David Staley.

 “With Sailing no longer a Paralympic Sport, the program operated last year with significantly reduced funding from previous years.  Beyond 2019, no further funding is available from the Australian Institute of Sport except in the unlikely case of the sport being reinstated in the Paralympic Sports Program”, he said.

The 2019 Australian Para Sailing Squad members are:

• Neil Patterson, VIC (Norlin 2.4 OD)
• Christopher Symonds, TAS (Hansa 303)
• Genevieve Wickham, WA (Hansa 303)

“Australian Sailing will also be providing coaching support to a larger Development Group of athletes at domestic competitions”, said Staley.

Paralympic Gold Medal Coach Grant Alderson from WA has been supporting the Para Sailing Squad in 2018 and will be in Puerto Sherry, Spain for a coaching camp in late June ahead of the 2019 Para World Sailing Championships.  In addition to the Squad members, a number of the Development Group athletes will also be competing and receive coaching support.

Alderson was recently at the Australian Hansa Class Championships in Bunbury WA supporting members of the Squad and Development Group. 

Winner of the 2018 Para World Sailing Championships in the Hansa 303, Chris Symonds (TAS), won both the Single Person and Two Person divisions of the National Hansa Championships.  Neil Rowsthorn (QLD), Alison Weatherly (VIC) and Genevieve Wickham (WA) also placed in the top 10 in the Single Person competition.

Grant Alderson will be joined by Mike Darby from Tasmania as the Hansa 303 Coach to lead a Coaching Clinic ahead of the 2019 Australian Para Sailing Championships at Southport Yacht Club, Queensland in July-August. Coaching will conducted on July 31 and August 1, with the Championships being held from August 2-4.  The event website is https://www.southportyachtclub.com.au/2019-australian-para-national-championships.

For additional information about the program, contact Australian Sailing’s Para Sailing Coordinator David Staley - parasailing@sailing.org.au

ENDS

Photo 1535 Caption: Para World Sailing Champion Chris Symonds is among the athletes selected for the 2019 Australian Para Sailing Squad (Cate Brown Photo)