International Association for Disabled Sailing

Paralympic Games Sailing was introduced to the Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport in 1996, and became an official Paralympic sport in the 2000 Summer Games. IFDS World Championships The organisation ran a number of ISAF recognised world championships to help develop international competition. ==Equipment==

Sailing is an equipment-based sport, therefore most boats can be adapted to suit certain disability types. The following classes are approved for use in the Paralympic Sailing event of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games: • Open One Person Keelboat — Norlin Mk3 One Design a subsection of the 2.4 Metre class • Mixed Two Person Keelboat — SKUD 18 • Open Three Person Keelboat — Sonar ==Removal from the Paralympic Games==

In late January 2015, the International Paralympic Committee dropped Paralympic Sailing from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games as did Sailing ''"did not fulfil the IPC Handbook's minimum criteria for worldwide reach."'' The news was a major disappointment for the sport of disabled sailing worldwide. In the ensuing months, para sailors, supporters and MNAs worldwide blamed IFDS for failure to produce the required documentation to keep the sport in the Paralympics. A campaign to appeal to IPC to Reinstate Paralympic Sailing in Tokyo 2020 erupted on sailing blogs, news sites, social media, even ISAF and continued for months after. Yachting Australia President Matt Allen said, "The decision to take sailing out of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games has left us stunned. We will consult with our ISAF colleagues to support the case for sailing and for all avenues to be explored for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and beyond. We have spoken with the Australian Paralympic Committee who have offered their support and sought clarity on the decision from the International Paralympic Committee", added Matt. == Campaign for reinstatement to the Paralympic Games ==

World Sailing actively campaigns for sailing to be reinstated in the Paralympic Games. This follows substantial commitments to grow para sailing globally. ==References==