Irish Sailing and Malahide Yacht Club have announced that the Irish Sailing Watersports Inclusion Games will take place at Malahide Yacht Club on the 5th and 6th of July 2025.
This award-winning event, now in its seventh year, is a multi-watersports celebration designed to be accessible to individuals of all abilities and disabilities—including those with physical, intellectual, sensory, and learning challenges, as well as individuals facing barriers to participating in mainstream sports. The Games are free of charge for all participants and promise an inclusive, welcoming, and empowering experience.
Organised by Irish Sailing in association with Canoeing Ireland and other sporting bodies, the event is generously supported by the Sport Ireland Dormant Accounts Sports Inclusion Fund.
The Watersports Inclusion Games will be held on the sheltered waters of the Malahide Estuary, a picturesque and ideal venue to accommodate a wide range of activities.
Malahide Yacht Club has a proud history of championing inclusion in sailing. Sean Walsh, a Malahide Yacht Club committee member, who spearheaded Ireland’s first coordinated disabled sailing initiative in 1981 with the Challenger Trimaran Project. This project introduced wheelchair users to the world of sailing and evolved into a highly successful programme of inclusive sailing.
John Twomey, 11-time Paralympian, former Malahide Challenger sailor, and President of Irish Sailing, expressed his excitement about the upcoming event: “Malahide Yacht Club is the perfect setting for the Watersports Inclusion Games, and we are thrilled to have them on board. We have no doubt Margaret and her team will do an amazing job. This event has always been a highlight of our calendar as it gives people with disabilities and their families the chance to experience sports they may not have known were accessible to them. It illustrates just how inclusive watersports in Ireland really can be.”
The Irish Sailing Watersports Inclusion Games are a unique opportunity for participants and their families to experience the joy of accessible watersports in a safe and supportive environment.
To learn more about the event and for booking information, visit sailing.ie/watersportsinclusiongames.
Credit: Irish Sailing
