The power of sport - Scottish Disability Sports Week

Earlier this year, RYA Scotland supported a series of Sailability sessions at James Hamilton Heritage Park, bringing together youngsters from two local schools to develop a range of transferable skills, confidence, and of course some practical sailing capabilities.

Held across May and June 2024, our involvement in the six week long series of Sailability sessions was led by Regional Development Officer Laura Cowan, with support from South Lanarkshire Active Schools, and South Lanarkshire Disability Sport.

We recognise the uniquely challenging and exciting environment Sailing offers, which places participants in control of constant decision making scenarios for them to navigate independently, using their own agency.

Sound good? Check out our full Case Study for a step by step guide through all that went into delivering these sessions. 

It was fantastic to see the journey participants went on throughout the programme, with instructors Tess and Stuart noting rapid progress in not only their sailing skills, but general confidence, demeanour, and attitude to new challenges.

Reflecting on the sessions, Tess said:

“There were two different groups of different schools when I first went on the boat with them they weren’t as chatty with each other, they weren’t as chatty with me…

“But by the end, we were all high fives, handshakes they were all chatting to each other, interacting on the water.”

Echoed by accompanying school staff, a positive shift in how participants communicated with each other back at school was also recognised. Thrilled to see such a tangible impact, PE Teacher Lee Rossi said these sessions have encouraged her to pursue more and more water based opportunities for her students moving forward.

And, most importantly, the review coming in from the sailors/ students themselves were positive. When asked for a few words to describe their experience, ‘fun’ was declared across the board – with one participant, Michael, labelling his experience ‘as good as it gets’.

From new experiences, to new friends, to new skills, it’s clear the impact these sessions had is far reaching. If you’re interested in more detail around the planning and prep that went into delivering these sessions, we encourage you to check out our full Case Study reflecting on all that went into this activity.

Got a question about these sessions, or Sailability in general? Get in touch with our Regional Development Officer Laura Cowan via laura.cowan@ryascotland.org.uk.

Inspired by the #scottishdisabilitysportweek message? You can find more positive stories by following Scottish Disability Sport on social media.