More than 50 sailors, coaches and officials gathered at the Royal Mysore Sailing Club last month for three days of training that organisers hope will reshape inclusive sailing across India for years to come.
The Foundation-level Inclusive Development Programme (IDP) mixed classroom sessions with time on the water, ahead of the Eurasian Inclusive Cup. It was delivered by Para World Sailing Manager Hannah Stodel and World Sailing IDP Lead Development Coach Dan Jaspers.
The focus went well beyond performance on the water. Participants worked through inclusive sailing principles, classification systems and where Para Sailing is heading globally, alongside coaching methods designed to help build lasting programmes back home.
That was the point, really. Sailors and coaches were pushed to think past the three days in front of them, toward what they could build once they returned to their own clubs and communities.
On-water sessions built steadily. Boat familiarisation and safe transfers came first, then basic handling and sailing fundamentals, before moving into starting, tactics, strategy, racing rules and coached practice racing. Country groups also presented their own learning to each other during the programme, a detail that speaks to how much of this was about confidence as much as technique.
The learning didn't stop when the IDP wrapped up. Sailors moved straight into the Eurasian Inclusive Cup, putting what they'd just learned into a genuine racing environment. Coaching continued throughout the regatta, on the water and through a WhatsApp group where sailors could review races and ask questions as the week unfolded.
That continuity is deliberate. World Sailing's IDP model isn't built as a one-off course. It's designed to hand sailors and coaches knowledge, then stay alongside them as they use it. The programme also pointed participants toward the pathway ahead, including the World Sailing Inclusion Championships.
India's progress didn't happen by accident. It traces back to the late Captain Arvind Sharma, who attended World Sailing's Inclusive Development Programme in Singapore in 2023 and came home determined to open up sailing to more people with disabilities. He made sure an Indian team returned to the IDP again in 2024, turning a single opportunity into something ongoing.
Three years on, that vision is bearing fruit. RMSC has carried the work forward, backed by the Yachting Association of India. The club now has a genuine base of sailors, coaches and organisers with real experience in inclusive sailing, a progression from attending an overseas programme, to building capacity at home, to hosting an international IDP and competition of its own.
For World Sailing, that's the real story here. Knowledge shared over three days in Mysore has been carried home, grown locally, and turned into opportunity for far more people than those in the room.
Indian sailors are now preparing to join a strong international field at the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Portimão this October. The next chapter starts there.
