Hopefully you have all read the articles in Scots N Water about Special Olympics sailing in Flying Scots, and have seen that we will have a Special Olympics Class racing on the Sunday of NACs at the same time as the Women's and Juniors Championships. The Flying Scot was used in the 1995 Special Olympic World Games, and has also been used at multiple local competitions. I think it is an ideal boat for Special Olympics Sailing, and am very proud of the support provided by FSSA and Houston Yacht Club for the Special Olympics event. This has been designated as the first-ever Texas State Special Olympics Championship. There will be Special Olympics athletes attending from Houston and Dallas and we are trying to get participation from other areas (both within and outside of Texas) for the regatta.

I would like to encourage sailors who are attending NACs to consider participating in the Special Olympics regatta. There are two ways to participate:
1. Line up a Special Olympics Athlete from your area who can come to Houston and sail with you Sunday.
2. If you would like to sail with a Special Olympian but can not line up one locally, contact me and I may be able to pair you up with an athlete from Dallas. All Dallas athletes who attend will have had multiple practice sessions in Flying Scots and will be sailing in our area regatta next week.

There are three levels of sailing in Special Olympics: In level 1, a regular skipper (called the Unified Partner) sails with a Special Olympics Athlete who handles the jib at all times. In level 2, the Special Olympics Athlete must skipper at least 50% of the race. In level 3, the full crew is Special Olympics Athletes with a coach on board. (We do not plan on having any level 3 competitors at the NACs.)
The requirements for a skipper to get involved with the event are that you need to register with your local Special Olympics office to be a volunteer/unified partner. You then need to either attend a general orientation (offered online in some areas) or volunteer at a Special Olympics event, just so you have an idea of what to expect.

Sailing in Special Olympics has been a great experience for me, and I would definitely encourage others to get involved- it is an excellent way to help out some very deserving athletes while getting to have fun sailing. Please email me if you would like to sign up or want more info. Also, please note that there is an early registration deadline for the event- we need all registrations by June 12th for planning purposes and to make sure we get all of the correct paperwork and training in place for both athletes and skippers.

I hope to see you all in Houston!

Steve Comen
FS 5330