Para Team and Tier 2 Para Team training

MINDSETISKEY FORSAILING

心態是航行的關鍵

By Andrew Sheard, Club Member and Sailability Volunteer

In November, World Sailing launched a global campaign to get sailing back into the Paralympic Games in LA 2028. Sailing was included in the Games up to 2016 but it was then dropped for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and the sport is driving hard for greater numbers and diversity of participants.

Here in Hong Kong, Rex is 20 years old and an all-round sportsman.

In summer 2019, as he finished secondary school, Rex went with a group of friends on a beach holiday to Thailand, as many of us have. He was into sports like cycling and football and thought it would be a great idea to try surfing but tragically ended up in a Thai hospital for a week with a serious injury to his spinal cord. That was followed by a year of hospital treatment back in Hong Kong and since then he uses a wheelchair.

Keen to continue with his sporting skills, Rex started playing wheelchair basketball and at one of these games in early 2021 a friend invited him to try sailing. He now attends Sailability for sailing training on Sundays with coach Paul. He enjoys sailing because “it’s relaxing, you can just chill out, and it’s also exciting, especially when the wind is strong, I like experiencing that feeling of speed when moving across the water.” In the future he would like to take part in more competitive sailing races.

In 2020 Rex started a degree course at Baptist University in Journalism. He said “Baptist U does a lot for people with special needs, including wheelchair access, and it’s good that the lecturers just treat me like any other student.”

去年11月，世界帆船運動總會針對帆 船運動開展宣傳活動，旨在讓帆船 運動重返2028年洛杉磯殘奧會。帆 船運動在2016年之前一直被列入奧 運會項目，但在2020年東京奧運會 和2024年巴黎奧運會中卻不見其身 影。世界各地的帆船運動愛好者正 在努力提高參與者的人數，讓更多 不同背景和文化的人參與其中。

在香港，因帆船運動而改變人生的 故事不算罕見。20歲的Rex是一名全 能運動員，在2019年的夏天從中學 畢業後，與一群朋友去泰國度假。 他個人非常喜歡運動，自己會騎單 車和踢足球，到了泰國也試過衝 浪，但不幸的是，他的脊髓因這一 次意外嚴重受傷，在泰國醫院住了 一個星期。之後，又回到香港接受 了一年的治療，從那以後，他的生 活便離不開輪椅。

Rex渴望繼續他的運動生涯，開始 接觸輪椅籃球。在2021年初的一 場輪椅籃球比賽中，朋友向他介紹 帆船運動，從此他便和帆船運動結 下不解之緣。現在，他定期和教練 Paul參加週日的帆船訓練，毫無疑 問他非常享受帆船運動，「這項運 動讓人心情很放鬆，亦令人興奮， 尤其是在風很大的時候，我喜歡在 水中移迅速移動的感覺。」Rex分 享道。

Back the Bid Rex

Rex

Rex with volunteer Alan

On the topic of sailing’s inclusion in the Paralympics, Rex said “I can’t understand why sailing was ever dropped from the Games. If it is included in the Olympics it should also be in the Paralympics. Sailing in the LA Games in 2028 is a great goal for the leading para sailors in Hong Kong and throughout the world!”

For now, Rex is focusing on his degree and honing his sailing skills. Like many sailors who have limited mobility on land, he loves the freedom of being in a dinghy and being able to move anywhere the wind allows. He believes sailing is not just about the technical skills of handling the boat, but about mental attitude. “I’ve learned that when sailing you have to have an adaptive mindset, to respond quickly to the changing conditions.” Adapting quickly to change – that seems to encapsulate Rex’s life so far. What a wonderful inspiration to us all!

Rex and Rabi Yim taking to the water - both are wheelchair users

2020年，Rex開始在香港浸會大學攻讀新聞學學位。他說：「浸會大學給予許多資源予 有特殊需要的人，例如提供輪椅；上課的時候，老師也把我當作其他學生同等對待。」

談及帆船運動的將來，Rex渴望能參加更加有挑戰性的帆船比賽。他在談到帆船項目被 列入殘奧會項目時說：「我不明白為什麼要取消帆船項目，如果它被列入奧運會運動項 目，它也應該被列入殘奧會。若2028年洛杉磯殘奧會能舉辦帆船比賽，對香港、全世界 的傷健選手來說，他們追逐的是一個偉大的目標！」

目前，Rex正專注於學業和帆船技能。在陸地上行動受制，他喜歡在海上的自由，與 海風肆意游動。他認為帆船運動不僅講究駕駛船隻的技巧，心態也是重要的因素之 一。Rex強調：「在帆船運動中，你必須有迅速適應環境的心態，以快速應對不斷變化 的挑戰。」

直到今天，迅速適應變化的能力在Rex的生活裡仍起著重要作用，對所有喜歡帆船運動 的人來說，這也是需時時學習、謹記的能力。