This Coronavirus has been challenging to say the least, with so many facing unexpected changes in their lives. For Team Paradise Sailing we consider this challenge as an opportunity to help others do better. Throughout the pandemic, we have discovered that more people than ever are interested in learning to sail, and there is an endless need to take kids from our under-served communities out sailing.
After winning Olympic gold in Sydney in 2000, I wanted to find a way to give back to the sport that has done so much for me. Team Paradise Sailing was established in 2005, and the first 10 years was all about the Paralympic Games and training for sailors with physical disabilities.
“Success happens when opportunity meets preparation”
Team Paradise had great success from the very beginning. Sailors we supported along the way had podium finishes at the Summer Paralympics in 3 consecutive Games!
In December of 2014, Knowing that Sailing would no longer a Paralympic sport, Team Paradise adjusted its sails and moved its operations to the US Sailing Center in Miami (USSC). It was slow at first, but we inherited USSC’s mandated community sailing program with the City of Miami and continued to build our disabled veterans sailing, adding sailing with special needs kids from Miami-Dade County’s Disability Services.
Team Paradise to the Rescue!
In 2018, the lease between the USSC and the City of Miami came up for renewal and it was a wake-up call for all of us. (See Scuttlebutt article dated May 10, 2018). Tasked with providing even more sailing opportunities for under-resourced youth from the City of Miami, Team Paradise was up for the challenge! Our outreach program developed further as we invited youth from Miami’s FOCAL Program and Urban Promise Miami to experience the sport of sailing. The need is great, and our list of community partners has grown to include organizations like Breakthrough Miami, Down Syndrome Association of Miami, Miami-Dade Parks Disability Services and Miami Psych Solutions.
Making Life-Long Sailors
The USSC in Miami-Dade County is a unique property, and it is important the we make the most of this access to Biscayne Bay. To help strengthen our programs, Team Paradise has invested a great deal of time and effort to achieve accreditation by US Sailing as both a Community Sailing Center and Sailing School. Perhaps the biggest game changer for us is our designation as US Sailing’s Supporting Siebel Center. As result, we now have the additional resources to help us develop life-long sailors.
The Siebel Sailors Program requires that no less than 50% of the attendance be derived from under-resourced communities. Like the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), US Sailing and the Siebel Sailors Program, Team Paradise has adopted the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement as a cornerstone of our mission.
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifying and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
Continuing to Make a Difference
We couldn’t be more excited about the challenges ahead and the increasing opportunities to help others and do better. With the support of our community, Team Paradise has managed to deliver on its mission for the past 15 years, having proven itself many times over.
Lets Go Sailing,
Magthemotivator