Inclusive Sailing

IBSA’s project Sailing into the Future. Together has focused on a sport – sailing–, turning it into a vehicle for raising awareness about themes such as inclusion and social integration. This is done in collaboration with organisations that promote sailing initiatives for people with disabilities. Launching inclusive sailing projects means championing cultural and social change and creating a journey of enrichment that benefits everyone involved. Sport becomes a tool for discovering aptitudes and talents, transcending physical and cognitive disabilities, as well as an opportunity to build self-confidence and to create opportunities for shared experiences, while teaching mutual respect. With these goals in mind, we established partnerships with several sailing organisations in Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and the United States.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, we support the Associazione Velabili, based at the Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano, which promotes sailing programmes for people with disabilities.

In June 2023, we supported Velabili’s participation in the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, and in 2025, we donated an RS Venture Connect SCS boat to the organisation.

Additionally, since 2023, IBSA Switzerland has been the sponsor of Coppa IBSA, the end-of-season regatta at the Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano.

France

In France, we began a collaboration with the Société des Régates d’Antibes on the Côte d’Azur, reinforcing our message of inclusion and social responsibility.

The donation of two Hansa 303 boats enabled this renowned club, already committed to youth sailing activities, to extend its initiatives to people with disabilities.

In September 2023, IBSA France organised the first IBSA Regatta in Antibes, a two-day event dedicated to young athletes aged 12 to 17, including 23 sailors with disabilities from ten French sailing clubs.

Italy

In Italy, we donated two Hansa 303 boats to the Yacht Club Punta Ala (in the province of Grosseto).

Furthermore, IBSA Italy has signed a three-year partnership with Para Sailing Academy (a disabled sailing school) of the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV, Federazione Italiana Vela). This project, supported by CONI, CIP, and World Sailing, aims to make sailing increasingly accessible both nationally and internationally.

Spain

In Spain, we donated two Hansa 303 boats to the Escola de Vela Adaptada in Sitges (Barcelona). IBSA Iberia continues its collaboration with the association to promote a series of inclusive sailing activities for children and young people.

United States

In the United States, IBSA USA supports the Newport (Rhode Island) organisation Sail to Prevail, which aims to enable around 1,500 people with disabilities to practise sailing with the support of professional skippers.

Although our sporting venture on a Class40 concluded in 2024, the project Sailing into the Future. Together lives on through inclusive sailing, with renewed momentum and the hope of extending this commitment to other organisations and nations. Inclusion allows us to celebrate differences and imagine horizons instead of boundaries, helping to build a better future.