Post by robertd on Nov 30, 2006 9:23:45 GMT -4
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
An international regatta for people with significant physical disabilities
will sail into Halifax in 2007.
The Mobility Cup regatta is North America's flagship for sailors with
physical disabilities. The event was first hosted in 1991 and has been
growing ever since as it travelled across Canada - but this will be its
first appearance in Atlantic Canada.
Mobility Cup 2007 will be run by Sail Able Nova Scotia and hosted at the
Dartmouth Yacht Club. It will run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, to include one
day's training and four of racing. Sailing will be on the Bedford Basin, a
sheltered body of water two miles wide and five miles long - where the WWII
Atlantic convoys would gather.
"Mobility Cup 2007 will give a huge boost to the profile of disabled
sailing in Halifax and the Maritimes," said honourary chairman Paul Tingley,
of Sail Able Nova Scotia. "Our goal is to purchase some Martin 16 adaptive
sailboats so that we attract more disabled sailors.
"We have the highest percentage of disabled people in the country and we
want to provide them with a new recreational activity not dependant on their
disability. It is sailing for all, and we want to get some Sip 'n' Puff
technology here, too."
Tingley added: "Mobility Cup will help us find new and lasting partnerships
with people and organizations within the sailing community. And it will give
another excuse to go sailing and have a good time!"
Sailing provides a unique sporting opportunity for people with disabilities,
as participants are not segregated by the nature of their disability - the
only divisions are according to sailing experience.
This is possible because of a new breed of sailboat, designed specifically
for the needs of people with disabilities. The Canadian-designed Martin 16
sloop allows joystick control, and high-level quadriplegics sail using
mouth-operated Sip 'n' Puff interfaces connected to power assisted steering.
Mobility Cup was launched by Sam Sullivan, a high-level quadriplegic, who is
currently mayor of Vancouver, BC, in order to promote his then fledgling
adaptive sailing program on the West Coast. He founded the Disabled Sailing
Association of British Columbia in 1989.
"We had the idea for the Mobility Cup right at the beginning, around 1989 or
1990," explained Sullivan. "It was important to have people come together
and celebrate their achievements, and to do that in the form of a race."
The first Mobility Cup was held in Vancouver in August 1991, and it was
immediately clear this could be a vehicle for spreading the word about
adaptive sailing - raising the level of competition while promoting the
sport to the wider community.
The event has grown a little each of the subsequent years. The 2006 event
was back in Vancouver in September after a seven-year absence, when it took
on a truly international significance with six countries represented:
Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary and England.
Over the years, the event has been the catalyst for advances in the sport -
from the world's first sailboat Sip 'n' Puff system, which debuted at
Mobility Cup 1993, to the 1995 commissioning of the Martin 16.
Each year's event leaves a legacy for its host community - 2006's was the
creation of the AbleSailNetwork (ASN), a Canada-wide association of
operators of accessible sailing programs committed to promoting and
developing the sport/recreation of accessible sailing, and exchanging best
practices.
One of ASN's duties includes responsibility for Mobility Cup, which included
appointing Halifax as the next venue.
ASN chairman Rene Dallaire of Montreal said the whole organization was
excited at the opportunities that would arise from hosting such a
prestigious event in Nova Scotia, as it perfectly fits the Mobility Cup
mandate of reaching out to new locations and leaving a legacy.
"It's exciting to be taking this event to a new location," he said. "We feel
that there is a lot of expertise that the ASN, and from other people
involved in disabled sailing programs over the years, that we can offer to
the organizers in Halifax. They won't be doing things on their own.
"There is a good group of people in Halifax. They have an adaptive sailing
program, Sail Able Nova Scotia, which has been running since the mid-1980s,
and they have found a great host for the Mobility Cup in Dartmouth,"
Dallaire stated.
"It's an exciting opportunity to add some extra life to the program running
there. We are very enthusiastic about using this to generate more adaptive
sailing programs throughout the Atlantic region."
- 30-
More information:
The Halifax bid in full: sailable.ca/mobcup.htm
AbleSailNetwork: www.ablesailnetwork.ca/
Mobility Cup 2006: www.mobilitycup.org/
An international regatta for people with significant physical disabilities
will sail into Halifax in 2007.
The Mobility Cup regatta is North America's flagship for sailors with
physical disabilities. The event was first hosted in 1991 and has been
growing ever since as it travelled across Canada - but this will be its
first appearance in Atlantic Canada.
Mobility Cup 2007 will be run by Sail Able Nova Scotia and hosted at the
Dartmouth Yacht Club. It will run from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, to include one
day's training and four of racing. Sailing will be on the Bedford Basin, a
sheltered body of water two miles wide and five miles long - where the WWII
Atlantic convoys would gather.
"Mobility Cup 2007 will give a huge boost to the profile of disabled
sailing in Halifax and the Maritimes," said honourary chairman Paul Tingley,
of Sail Able Nova Scotia. "Our goal is to purchase some Martin 16 adaptive
sailboats so that we attract more disabled sailors.
"We have the highest percentage of disabled people in the country and we
want to provide them with a new recreational activity not dependant on their
disability. It is sailing for all, and we want to get some Sip 'n' Puff
technology here, too."
Tingley added: "Mobility Cup will help us find new and lasting partnerships
with people and organizations within the sailing community. And it will give
another excuse to go sailing and have a good time!"
Sailing provides a unique sporting opportunity for people with disabilities,
as participants are not segregated by the nature of their disability - the
only divisions are according to sailing experience.
This is possible because of a new breed of sailboat, designed specifically
for the needs of people with disabilities. The Canadian-designed Martin 16
sloop allows joystick control, and high-level quadriplegics sail using
mouth-operated Sip 'n' Puff interfaces connected to power assisted steering.
Mobility Cup was launched by Sam Sullivan, a high-level quadriplegic, who is
currently mayor of Vancouver, BC, in order to promote his then fledgling
adaptive sailing program on the West Coast. He founded the Disabled Sailing
Association of British Columbia in 1989.
"We had the idea for the Mobility Cup right at the beginning, around 1989 or
1990," explained Sullivan. "It was important to have people come together
and celebrate their achievements, and to do that in the form of a race."
The first Mobility Cup was held in Vancouver in August 1991, and it was
immediately clear this could be a vehicle for spreading the word about
adaptive sailing - raising the level of competition while promoting the
sport to the wider community.
The event has grown a little each of the subsequent years. The 2006 event
was back in Vancouver in September after a seven-year absence, when it took
on a truly international significance with six countries represented:
Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary and England.
Over the years, the event has been the catalyst for advances in the sport -
from the world's first sailboat Sip 'n' Puff system, which debuted at
Mobility Cup 1993, to the 1995 commissioning of the Martin 16.
Each year's event leaves a legacy for its host community - 2006's was the
creation of the AbleSailNetwork (ASN), a Canada-wide association of
operators of accessible sailing programs committed to promoting and
developing the sport/recreation of accessible sailing, and exchanging best
practices.
One of ASN's duties includes responsibility for Mobility Cup, which included
appointing Halifax as the next venue.
ASN chairman Rene Dallaire of Montreal said the whole organization was
excited at the opportunities that would arise from hosting such a
prestigious event in Nova Scotia, as it perfectly fits the Mobility Cup
mandate of reaching out to new locations and leaving a legacy.
"It's exciting to be taking this event to a new location," he said. "We feel
that there is a lot of expertise that the ASN, and from other people
involved in disabled sailing programs over the years, that we can offer to
the organizers in Halifax. They won't be doing things on their own.
"There is a good group of people in Halifax. They have an adaptive sailing
program, Sail Able Nova Scotia, which has been running since the mid-1980s,
and they have found a great host for the Mobility Cup in Dartmouth,"
Dallaire stated.
"It's an exciting opportunity to add some extra life to the program running
there. We are very enthusiastic about using this to generate more adaptive
sailing programs throughout the Atlantic region."
- 30-
More information:
The Halifax bid in full: sailable.ca/mobcup.htm
AbleSailNetwork: www.ablesailnetwork.ca/
Mobility Cup 2006: www.mobilitycup.org/