Back The Bid: #SailToLA

As World Sailing sharpens its focus to be reinstated as a sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, sailors from Canada and USA offer their support:

Paul Tingley (CAN), three-time Paralympic medalist:
“I strongly believe that sailing is one of the most inclusive Paralympic sports among them all. Whatever your disability, all Para Sailors can be in a sailboat, be active in their favorite class as well as compete and have fun with their teammates.

“No other sport offers us the privilege of being so inclusive. This is what makes sailing such a unique sport and that is why it deserves to be included in the Paralympic Games program.”

Jackie Gay (CAN), Silver Medalist, Rio 2016 Paralympic Games:
“The Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of our sport, and for young and newly disabled sailors to know that this opportunity is open to them is something that will fill the entire pyramid with energy and potential.

“We miss our friends and the international community! We miss the chance to bring medals home for our country and to leave our challenges and disabilities behind as we sail away from the dock to compete at the highest level.

“Sailors know that sailors never stop learning. I want to learn everything that the ocean has to teach me, and competing in Para Sailing is a huge part of this journey. I am very thankful for all the opportunities I have had and will do all I can to secure these opportunities for Para Sailors in the future. We have a fantastic legacy already, now let’s build on it!”

Ryan Porteous (USA), Rio 2016 Paralympic Games:
“The Paralympics Games was the pinnacle of the sport of para sailing and is where athletes from around the world aspired to represent their country and compete at. It is important to have para sailing re-included in the Paralympic Games and make these goals and dreams possible and come to fruition again.

“Para sailing has a storied history at the Games alongside its Olympic counterpart; furthering the ‘in parallel’ meaning of the Paralympics. Para sailing also is one of the most inclusive adaptive sports where all athletes are competing against each other on an equal playing field.

“Growing up, I was a competitive sailor. After suffering a spinal cord injury, para sailing was there to not only get me back on the water, but also re-introduce me to an active and healthy lifestyle, the competitiveness of sport, and most importantly, having fun, which was hard to foresee having as a fresh new wheelchair user.”