Swedish Sailing Hero presents cheque to Access Ability Center, GKSS
by Amy Harvey 31 Aug 2015 15:28 BST
31 August 2015
The Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation has awarded the GKSS Access Ability Centre in Gothenburg Sweden a grant of KR 52,000 to develop their "Everyone Can Sail" programme. The presentation was made during the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series in Gothenburg by ASSF Ambassador, Olympic Gold Medallist and America's Cup sailor, Freddy Lööf.
"Everyone Can Sail" is a comprehensive school sailing project that teaches children and young people from throughout the City to sail. The programme is designed for open pre-school where the youngest children are taught to approach the water and try sailing, including those with disabilities.
The club works with children and young people from all districts of Gothenburg, meeting hundreds of children every week, who have never had the opportunity to try sailing. Through the programme children learn the basics and are then passed on to various local clubs to continue their sailing activities.
GKSS Commodore, Rasmus Bergström, said "We believe that we can create a great pathway to get more children into sailing, but even more importantly, to retain them in the sport that gives us all so much back."
"Our goal is that the majority of those who come and sail with us will choose to continue in the sport. We see that they return to our "Open Sailing" after they had visited us with their school. We also want to create opportunities for children with disabilities to find a way into sailing competition and enjoy it as a sport."
Freddy added "It's fantastic to be in Gothenburg for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, and see the great work being done here in the city by the Access Sailing Centre. Andrew would be very proud, I feel honoured to be an ambassador for this charity, and will do what I can to carry on his legacy here in Sweden. Last year we also saw the Foundation launch Bart's Bash, the world's largest sailing and fund raising event, and it was awesome here in Sweden. I look forward to taking part again on 20th September 2015, get signed up at your local club!"
andrewsimpsonfoundation.co.uk