Sports for people with disabilities: active on land and water

Many people engage in sports in their free time. Some want to promote their own health, others want to achieve a specific goal. Some people use sport to clear their heads, while others simply enjoy it. Sports activities also serve as a meeting place for social contacts and shared experiences.

Sport for people with disabilities has developed greatly over time. The range of options has grown substantially. The Rehabilitation and Sports Association of People with Disabilities in North-Rhine Westphalia (German: Behinderten- und Rehabilitationssportverband Nordrhein-Westfalen – BRSNW), which has contributed its part to it, also realized this when it celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. From the first idea of the federation to offer war-disabled returnees an active life, the organization developed fast, to now offer a wide range of activities for all humans with the most varied disabilities.

Today, the BRSNW sees itself as a modern sports association that wants to contribute to making the equal and self-determined participation of people with disabilities in sports a reality. To this end, the association continues to expand movement, play and sports offerings for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and promotes inclusive sports offerings and competitive and elite sports within the framework of the Paralympic Center NRW.

The association will once again present the breadth of the para-sports world at this year's REHACARE. As a new highlight, there will be a large Mario Kart track – similar to a Carrera track – but then controlled with the Nintendo Switch. "Otherwise, in terms of sports, there will again be everything from skiing to archery, from soccer to wheelchair basketball and from wheelchair courses to track and field," Nellen reports.

Even though the topic of water sports is always a bit difficult on land, three sports will be presented in this area at once: Canoeing, rowing and sailing. In the "wobbly canoe", for example, visitors can get a first feel for the boat. Rowing is taught via a station with indoor rowing machines. Special seats and backrests can provide an insight into this exciting and highly inclusive sport. As in 2022, an inclusive sailboat will be set up in the exhibition halls this year. Visitors can get to know inclusive sailing at the booth of the German Sailing Federation (DSV) and take a seat in the sailboat. "There is also a knot tower as a hands-on station. There, people can practice on land what has to work on the water," Nellen tells us. You can already discover what else the Sports Center at this year's REHACARE will have to offer in the trend topic Sports. There are also some impressions from the Sports Center in the video:

By the way, the INVICTUS GAMES DÜSSELDORF 2023 will take place parallel to REHACARE. Long-time REHACARE exhibitor Ottobock will be on site there and will be completely in charge of the workshops, just as the company does as the official service partner at the Paralympics (you can find an interview with Daniel Anlauf from Ottobock about the Paralympic workshop in Tokyo here).

That sailing will again be a very popular topic in 2023 could already be seen at this year's “boot Düsseldorf”, the world's largest international water sports trade fair. Inclusive water sports were also a topic there. The joint stand of the Yachtclub Möhnesee and the Heinz Kettler Foundation showed that sailing is just as much something for people with as without disabilities. In addition, the Day of Inclusive Sailing took place at boot 2023. As part of this, there was an extensive program with various lectures, discussions and workshops around the topic. The interest was strong and there was a lively exchange between club officials, coaches, sailing instructors, sailors, volunteers and other interested parties.

The German Sailing Federation (DSV) is also committed to making the inclusive potential of sailing known and to engaging the target group where it stands. For this goal, the association is also present at REHACARE, for example. "Sailing is a particularly strong driver of inclusion in the field of sport, as disabilities can be compensated for very effectively through adaptations to the boats. In this way, people with and without disabilities meet at eye level and even sail competitions against each other. This great inclusive potential is also a great opportunity. Because inclusion in sailing not only changes something in our sport, but also has a positive effect on other areas of society," explains Lina Nagel from the DSV. In addition, according to the DSV, inclusive sailing strengthens the sense of community in the club and makes the sport interesting for older people, for example, who also benefit from transfer options to the boats and accessible facilities in a sailing club.

"Inclusive sailing is a natural part of sailing for us and a natural part of the daily work of our office," Nagel adds. Incidentally, with a survey, the DSV was able to determine that 50 percent of the sailing clubs surveyed had created their inclusive offering in the last five years. This shows how rapidly inclusive sailing is currently developing – both in terms of supply and demand. Elke Paatz, sports scientist and contact person for inclusive sailing, told us in an interview what is important for inclusive sailing and how the DSV supports this inclusive sport.

Another REHACARE exhibitor that supports and offers active water sports for people with disabilities is SailWise (Stichting Watersport Gehandicapten Nederland). The company believes that inclusive water sports are not just sports to pass the time, but that they contribute to independence and self-confidence. Whether it's canoeing, water skiing or sailing – SailWise makes it possible to do it all. What makes SailWise special is that they not only support inclusive water activities as a sport but offer entire water sports vacations and sailing as a travel option for people with disabilities. If you want to know more about vacations and travel, make sure to read this article: Active on vacation – with the right travel offers and the right assistive devices.