Competitive regatta racing and an inclusive crew—do they go together?
Four race wins, a 7th-place finish on matchday, and a jump from 13th to 10th place in the season standings: On Matchday 3 of the 2nd German Sailing Bundesliga on Kiel’s Inner Fjord, the BAT Sailing Team—embodying inclusion on the regatta course—sailed a weekend that left everyone wanting more.
Three days, 16 races, a race course right in the heart of the city: From July 10 to 12, 2026, our team took to the water off the Hotel Kieler Yacht-Club.
Race Day
The opening day (Races 1–6) immediately showed what the crew is capable of. With results of 3 · 1 · 5 · 3 · 2 · 4, they recorded one race win and one second-place finish. 18 points, 9th place after day one.
Day Two (Races 7–13) also began with a win. After that, it became clear just how unforgiving the middle of the pack is in this league: 1 · 6 · 6 · 4 · 3 · 5 · 4—even small mistakes were immediately punished. After 13 races, the team was in 9th place with 47 points.
The final day (races 14–16) turned out to be the best of the weekend: two consecutive wins to start, a third-place finish to close it out—five points from three races. The crew sailed confidently, found the wind shifts early, and remained calm in the battles for position. They were rewarded with a jump from 9th place to 7th place in the day’s standings.
The bottom line is four race wins against Germany’s top clubs—and a jump from 13th to 10th place in the season standings of the 2nd Sailing Bundesliga.
Our crew in Kiel: Marvin Hamm, Mieke Klein, David Koch, and Jan Mense.
Five Years in Kiel—and a Visit That Meant a Lot to Us
We were delighted by the visit from Gerwin Stöcken, mayor of the state capital Kiel and the city’s sports commissioner. On Saturday, he was at the fjord watching the races, and he was also present at the awards ceremony.
For us, this is more than just a gesture. For five years now, we’ve been partners with the city for inclusive sailing through the BAT Sailing Team—putting inclusion into practice on the regatta course during Kiel Week. And it was right here in Kiel that our inclusive J/70 crew made its very first regatta appearance five years ago. Today, we’re in our third year competing in the German Sailing League. The path between these two milestones is exactly the one we set out to take.
And then there’s the question that comes up again and again
“Visually impaired and blind people on board—is that even possible?”
We hear this question often. And we hear something else, usually well-intentioned: advice on what a person with a disability should avoid doing. How much exercise, at what intensity, under what conditions—all of that tends to be decided by others as soon as a disability is involved.
That’s exactly what we want to change.
Sailing isn’t a dangerous sport. But like any sport practiced intensively, it carries certain risks: You can get injured, you can capsize, you can fall overboard. This applies to everyone on board—people with disabilities just as much as anyone else. And how intensely, under what conditions, and at what level he sails—that’s something our visually impaired sailor, David Koch, decides for himself. He’s the best person to do so. He is a responsible adult who knows his sport.
This self-determination is no minor matter. It is the core of what we do.
What drives us: Making inclusion visible. Enabling participation—beyond traditional recreational and fitness sports, all the way into competitive regatta racing. In our boat, people with and without disabilities sit side by side at the same tacks, in the same league, under the same rules. On six identical J/70s per race, sailing skill alone determines the outcome. We are not an exception in the field—we are one of 18 teams.
I want to set my own limits on what I can do with my disability. That is our message.
The Results
The Winners of Matchday 3
- Sailing Bundesliga: Mühlenberger Sailing Club
- Sailing Bundesliga: Segel-Club Ville
The leaders in the overall standings
- Sailing Bundesliga (after 3 of 6 race days): Norddeutscher Regatta Verein
- Sailing Bundesliga (after 3 of 5 race days): Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee
Congratulations to the NRV!
A fantastic weekend for our partner, the North German Regatta Club, with whom we jointly field the BAT Sailing Team—inclusion in action on the regatta course: 2nd place on the match day—and thus the lead in the overall standings of the 1st Sailing Bundesliga. The next match day is even a home game for the NRV: From July 31 to August 2, 2026, the 1st League will be sailing on Hamburg’s Alster.
All results and info on Match Day 3
Thank you!
None of this would be possible without you. Without your support, there would be no boat, no training sessions, no travel, and no sails.
Our Sponsors and Partners: Pantaenius · Torqeedo · Zhik · Peter Frisch GmbH · Ocean Network Express (ONE) · Heinz Kettler Foundation · e-Boot Hamburg · Reinhard Frank Foundation · Elvström Germany · REWE · Fullstream Trading · Elletec · Zürcher
About the BAT Sailing Team – Inclusion in Action on the Regatta Course
The BAT Sailing Team – Inclusion in Action on the Regatta Course is a joint project of the North German Regatta Club and Wir sind Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V. – supported by patron Susann Beucke, Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo. People with and without disabilities sail together at the league level.
