Paralympic Sailing Explained

I think it's time I gave some background into the 3 Paralympic Classes and the classification system.

First of all classification. Every disability has a equivalent points score with 1 point being the most severe and 7 being the least. The Sonar uses a combined score to dictate participation, the skud must include a 1 point athlete and 2.4 sailor required the sailor to be classified as disabled.

The Sonar was the first boat to gain Paralympic status in Savannah with Great Britain's Andy Castle winning Gold. At the Games the boat is sailed without spinnaker and with small speed differences throught the fleet there's a real emphasis on tactics.

The 2.4 has been in the Games since Sydney with the Brits still to medal. It's a pretty technical class as the rules allow for a wide variety of rigs and set up. Its effectively a miniature 12 meter but the fleets are far from small. As a recognised international class with open and disabled world champs, expect the biggest fleet and the toughest fight for gold.

Finally the Skud. New to 2008 this is what the Paralympics has been calling out for. A One Design high performance 2 person keel boat that puts the emphasis on fitness and skill. Well, that's what it say on the packet but the reality is that its slow and drastically overpowered and under engineered. Good boat-handling and rig set up are critical if you want to medal but expect to see plenty of errors from the also ran's. Essentially, its early days and finding a suitable team has been a big ask for many nations. Expect this to change for London 2012!