New boats boost for disabled sailing in Walsall
06/10/2016
A combined £3,350 donation from three West Midlands Rotary groups means even more local disabled people will now have the chance to try sailing in Walsall.
Walsall Sailability, based at Aldridge Sailing Club at The Swag, is part of the national RYA Sailability programme giving disabled people opportunities to learn to sail and sail regularly.
Thanks to donations totaling £3,000 from the Walsall Saddlers and Aldridge Rotary groups, Walsall Sailability have been able to add two new Hansa 2.3 one-person dinghies to its fleet of boats suitable for people with disabilities to get afloat.
Meanwhile a further £350 from Darlaston Rotary, in addition to £250 the group donated in 2015, will go towards the purchase of a hoist to help people with impaired mobility get into and out of the boats.
Sailing is one of the few sports which is truly inclusive and where people of all abilities can participate side by side on a level playing field.
The latest investment comes exactly a year after Walsall Sailability put in place a new jetty and pontoons at The Swag to improve access to the water for people who use mobility aids, with backing from Sport England, the RYA Sailability Charitable Trust, Walsall Rotarians and Alister Gower, MD of Wednesbury-based FBoard.
Jeff Moore, Chairman of Walsall Sailability, admits they wouldn’t be able to achieve what they do in the community if it wasn’t for such local generosity.
He said: "We can't thank the Walsall Rotarians enough for their support and generosity. The dinghies will provide even more and improved opportunities for everyone in the local community to get afloat next year.
"We also desperately need a hoist, which is compatible with our pontoon system, and the Darlaston Rotary support will go a long way towards making that happen. Our special thanks too to Ian ‘Hank’ Hankinson from Darlaston Rotary, who wrote to all the Rotarian groups in Walsall asking them to support our group at Aldridge.
"We have already seen what a difference the new jetty and pontoons have made to sailors this year, with the pontoon providing a wide fully wheelchair accessible platform to get in and out of dinghies, and PVC nonslip decking boards. Everything has just been made easier and the experience even more enjoyable as a result.”
Walsall Sailability became affiliated to Aldridge Sailing Club in 2015. Since then the two clubs have gone from strength to strength, working together to make sailing as inclusive and accessible for all and for anyone in and around Walsall.
For more information about Walsall Sailability and Aldridge SC visit www.aldridgesc.org.uk
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