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What are the Paralympics?

The Paralympics are an elite, international sporting event hosting the finest disabled athletes from around the world and is of equal caliber to the Olympic Games. They’re held every four years immediately following the Olympics. The Games will be held in Athens, Greece in September ’04, and organizers expect 4,000 Paralympic athletes to compete from 130 different countries.

The Paralympics are not like the Special Olympics. Only the top three Paralympic finishers in each event receive gold, silver and bronze medals, just as they do at the Olympics. The Paralympic Sailing Trials are run identically to the Olympic Trials, and just the ability to represent your country at the Games is a tremendous honor. (Only one Sonar team will be sent to the Athens games from the U.S.)

Every sport manages its qualification process differently. The Sonar Sailing team will be selected following the U.S. Paralympic Trials held this November in St. Petersburg, FL. The team that finishes first in the Trials will be the U.S. entry to Athens in ’04. For Paralympic sailing, second place at the Trials isn’t good enough.

Other significant regattas for Paralympic hopefuls are the Miami Olympic Class Regatta, (held at the end of January in Miami) and the Disabled Mid-Winters (held in March in St. Petersburg, FL). Three U.S. Sonar teams are named to the U.S. Disabled Sailing Team, based on their performance at these two regattas. This provides professional coaching and logistical support from US Sailing, helping these elite teams prepare for the November trials.

Not too much really. Team Odyssey sails a one-design Sonar, just like the other 700+ Sonars worldwide. There are a few extra handholds and transfer benches for Maureen and Rick, who are both paraplegics. Some fittings are relocated for Tim, to be more ergonomic for use with his single arm. These sorts of adaptations and aids are highly individualized, based on the sailor's particular requirements.

The only significant difference is that Paralympic Sonars are raced with 2 sails, rather than the 3 sails that able-bodied sailors commonly race with. There is no spinnaker, so we use a self launching whisker pole to hold the jib out while sailing downwind.

Of course, this is high intensity Olympic caliber sailing, so the boat, sails and equipment are constantly being tested, tweaked and improved. The keel, rudder and hull are highly faired and polished. We're constantly testing new sail trim ideas, moving fittings, trying new rigging ideas... Always striving for one little edge over the competition!