ISAF Disabled Sailing Committee holding "slim" hopes of being reinstated at Tokyo 2020

The ISAF's Disabled Sailing Committee still hope to get the sport reinstated at Tokyo 2020 ©ISAF

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Disabled Sailing Committee says it still harbours hopes of regaining its place on the Paralympic Games programme after the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) submitted a motion to have a 23rd sport included at Tokyo 2020.

Their ambitions come despite the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirming to the ISAF in a meeting in April that the process of selecting sports for Tokyo has officially drawn to a close, all but ending their slim chances.

The IPC opted to cut the sport from the Games in the Japanese capital in January after claiming it did not fulfil their handbook's minimum criteria for worldwide reach.

This dictates that "only team sports widely and regularly practiced in a minimum of 24 countries and three IPC regions will be considered for inclusion in the Paralympic Games and for individual sports a minimum of 32 countries in three IPC regions".

The IPC’s decision sparked outrage among the sailing fraternity and CPISRA will table a motion at the IPC's General Assembly on November 14 and 15 to get sailing back on the programme.

In a bid to regain its inclusion, the ISAF launched a new Paralympic Development Programme, which aims to increase participation levels in disabled sailing and vows to enhance attendance by nations at international events using Paralympic classes of equipment.

Sailing’s governing body also appointed London-based Vero Communications to orchestrate the campaign to get the sport included at Tokyo 2020.

The IPC have all-but ended sailing's chances of regaining its place on the Paralympic sports programme but the ISAF remain hopeful — The IPC have all-but ended sailing's chances of regaining its place on the Paralympic sports programme in Tokyo but the ISAF remain hopeful ©Getty Images

Despite their best efforts, the IPC remain unlikely to cave in to the widespread opposition and sailing is expected to remain excluded from the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, with the Disabled Sailing Committee looking to launch another campaign for inclusion at the 2024 event.

“There is a slim chance for sailing to be reinstated for Tokyo 2020 as there is a submission on the table at the upcoming International Paralympic Committee's General Assembly in Mexico City, Mexico,” an ISAF statement read.

The issue dominated the meeting of the ISAF Disabled Sailing Committee, which took place at the ISAF Annual Conference in Sanya, China.

During the event, the Committee voted in favour of changing its name to the Para World Sailing Committee, though the decision still has to be ratified by the ISAF Council.

The announcement comes before the Para World Sailing Championships take place at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia from November 24 to December 3.

An update from ISAF Medical Commission member Bernard Destrubé on the report from the recent Rio 2016 test event was also given at the Annual Conference.