TY - JOUR

T1 - Sailing together

T2 - challenges for an inclusive team of visually impaired and sighted athletes at Kiel Week

AU - Greve, Steffen

AU - Bükers, Frederik

AU - Bodenstedt, Paula

AU - Steinvoord, Katrin

AU - Krieger, Claus

N1 - Publisher Copyright: 2025 Greve, Bükers, Bodenstedt, Steinvoord and Krieger.

PY - 2025/6/13

Y1 - 2025/6/13

N2 - The BAT-Sailing project is a joint project of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and FC St. Pauli Segeln, which enables people with and without disabilities to pursue sailing together in a performance-oriented manner as part of training and regattas. The project originally started with the intention of realizing the joint sailing of sighted and blind athletes. This article presents the scientific monitoring that was carried out at the request of the BAT Sailing Team in order to scrutinize and optimize the practice of the BAT Sailing Team [The name is derived from the word “bat” and alludes the symbolic transfer: cannot see (well) but can fly (or sail)]. The evaluation was carried out according to the Patton approach of a utilization-focused evaluation, which places the needs and values of the users at the center of the evaluation. The evaluation took place over three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023) and included interviews with the athletes, coaches and organizers of the BAT Sailing Team. The results showed that communication between sighted and blind athletes plays a special role and that the athletes learn to understand and support each other. Within the process of the evaluation it was able to identify communication as a strength that has developed in the joint sailing of people with and without visual impairments and that benefits above all people without disabilities. The results of the evaluation show that the utilization-focused evaluation is an effective tool for improving the practice of an inclusive sailing team that wants to act in a performance-oriented manner but also wants to ensure the participation of all potentially interested parties, regardless of their dis/abilities. The results of the evaluation can also be transferred to other inclusive sports projects that face a similar challenge.

AB - The BAT-Sailing project is a joint project of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein and FC St. Pauli Segeln, which enables people with and without disabilities to pursue sailing together in a performance-oriented manner as part of training and regattas. The project originally started with the intention of realizing the joint sailing of sighted and blind athletes. This article presents the scientific monitoring that was carried out at the request of the BAT Sailing Team in order to scrutinize and optimize the practice of the BAT Sailing Team [The name is derived from the word “bat” and alludes the symbolic transfer: cannot see (well) but can fly (or sail)]. The evaluation was carried out according to the Patton approach of a utilization-focused evaluation, which places the needs and values of the users at the center of the evaluation. The evaluation took place over three consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023) and included interviews with the athletes, coaches and organizers of the BAT Sailing Team. The results showed that communication between sighted and blind athletes plays a special role and that the athletes learn to understand and support each other. Within the process of the evaluation it was able to identify communication as a strength that has developed in the joint sailing of people with and without visual impairments and that benefits above all people without disabilities. The results of the evaluation show that the utilization-focused evaluation is an effective tool for improving the practice of an inclusive sailing team that wants to act in a performance-oriented manner but also wants to ensure the participation of all potentially interested parties, regardless of their dis/abilities. The results of the evaluation can also be transferred to other inclusive sports projects that face a similar challenge.

KW - adaptive sailing

KW - communication

KW - competitive sports

KW - inclusion

KW - utilization-focused evaluation

KW - Physical education and sports

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105009342988&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fspor.2025.1602925

DO - 10.3389/fspor.2025.1602925

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 40583933

AN - SCOPUS:105009342988

VL - 7

JO - Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

JF - Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

SN - 2642-9367

M1 - 1602925

ER -