Australia claimed the RS Venture Connect European Championship title at Travemünder Woche last week, with Genevieve Wickham and Grant Alderson defending the kind of international form that makes them genuine contenders at the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Portimão this October.
The event ran inside the RS Games, itself embedded within Travemünder Woche, one of Europe's largest sailing festivals. Para Inclusive sailing has rarely shared a stage this prominent.
Strong winds pushed back the opening day's racing. The Race Committee adapted quickly, shifting the fleet into the sheltered waters of the Pötenitzer Wiek, where four qualifying races were completed before a two-race final series wrapped things up.
Wickham and Alderson took the Overall European title ahead of Spain's Pau Toni Homar and Ramón Gutiérrez, with Portugal's Pedro Câncio Reis and Teodoro Cândido on the bronze. In the Inclusive category, the Australians again claimed gold, Germany's Carsten Sibbert and Johannes Nee finishing second, Great Britain's Adam Billany and Shaun Billany completing the podium.
The Para European title went to Homar and Gutiérrez. Câncio Reis and Cândido took silver, Germany's Stephanie Brix and Dirk Thalheim bronze.
There was more going on than racing. World Sailing international race officials, classifiers, measurers and volunteers used the week to trial new operational and classification procedures, capturing lessons in real time, with one eye firmly on Portimão. The event had the feel of a working rehearsal, the kind where people are still scribbling notes in the margins.
World Sailing Measurer Tom Jatsch was direct about what the week delivered. "Every event teaches us something new, and the RS Games were no exception. What impressed me most was the willingness of everyone involved to learn and improve together. The organisers showed a real commitment to enhancing accessibility and event operations, and many of those lessons are already being incorporated into our planning for future championships. By working collaboratively and continuously improving, we're building stronger, more inclusive events that will benefit sailors for years to come."
Jamaica is now actively exploring an entry into the RS Venture Connect fleet ahead of Portimão, one of the more tangible signs of the class's growing reach. Travemünder Woche's organising authority has already identified infrastructure improvements off the back of feedback gathered during the event.
The class heads to Portugal with momentum and a clearer template for how Para Inclusive competition can be run at scale.
