Australian Sailing is committed to reinstating sailing in the sports program at the Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games.

World Sailing recently unveiled its Para Inclusive Strategy, aimed at making the sport more accessible and inclusive for sailors with disabilities.

“Our Paralympic sailors have won Gold for Australia and have been an inspiration to the nation,” said Australian Sailing’s CEO Ben Houston. “The decision not to reinstate sailing in the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 was a setback for the next generation of young Para Sailors in Australia who won’t have the chance to represent Australia at the Games.”

Daniel Fitzgibbon & Liesel Tesch CREDIT Robert Langdon 

Para Sailing made its debut at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games and was a successful Paralympic sport for Australia for five consecutive Games from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016and we remain committed to Diversity and Inclusion as one of the six Strategic Foundations of our  SAILING 2032 Strategy.

“We will work with World Sailing to promote Diversity and Inclusion and want to see sailing reinstated for the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics,” reiterated Houston.

World Sailing is already creating a comprehensive quadrennial competition calendar of Para Inclusive events and will deliver Para Inclusive disciplines as part of the World Sailing Championships in Valencia in 2026 and Gdynia in 2027. 

They are also working on maintaining alignment with the IPC Athlete Classification Code while continuing to innovate and ensuring the highest standards of governance including a robust anti-doping program that encompasses education as well as athlete testing.

Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris & Russell Boaden CREDIT Robert Langdon

We believe that sailing’s reinstatement will not only enrich the Paralympic program for Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games but will inspire a new generation of sailors in Australia and around the world.

The Para Inclusive Strategy 2024-2029 is available to download in full on the World Sailing website.