Pilot Project for Inclusive Regatta Racing

About Our Team

The Heinz Kettler Inclusive Youth Sailing Team Germany is a unique pilot project that was officially founded on October 12, 2025. Our goal is to train children and young people with various disabilities to become skilled, independent sailors.

We don’t want our young sailors to simply be along for the ride. We empower them to take on responsibility independently on the water and to successfully participate in regattas as competent members of inclusive crews.

Our Vision

Since sailing is no longer part of the Paralympic program, young people with disabilities lack professional training structures in competitive sailing. We aim to close this very gap and create a platform for qualified and ambitious competitive sailing training—not in the parasport sector, but in mainstream competitive sailing.

Organization and Partners

Organized by:

• We are Wir Inclusion in Sailing e.V.
• Hamburger Segel-Club

Patron:

Anna Barth, tactician for the Germany SailGP Team

Supported by:

• Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank
• Heinz Kettler Foundation
• Allianz für die Jugend Nordwest e.V.
• Hamburger Segel-Verband

Our Team Members

Leander, 12 years old

Leander is in seventh grade at the Eric Kandel Gymnasium in Ahrensburg and has complex thoracic insufficiency with spinal malformations and approximately 65 percent lung function. Despite having undergone more than 30 surgeries and facing other health challenges, nothing stops him from participating in everything he can.

Equipped with a back protector, he enthusiastically rides a longboard, has been paddling his SUP across the Baltic Sea since his eighth birthday, and plays drums in two youth orchestras. When it comes to sailing, he really shines—it’s all about speed with manageable physical risk. The benefits of inclusive boats allow his physical limitations to fade completely into the background. He enjoys the combination of technical know-how, teamwork, and athletic ambition.

Sophia Emilia Hein, 10 years old

Sophia has a visual impairment and has been allowed to sail since May 2025—and she thinks it’s simply wonderful. For her, sailing means a break from her stressful daily life and a connection to the water.

“Every time the wind and water rush past my ears, I feel a little adventure inside me,” Sophia says. The thrill she feels when sailing fast and heeling over—whether during training or regattas—is especially motivating for her. Her greatest wish is to become a good sailor and to learn how to capsize safely.

Tristan Matthies, 12 years old

Tristan is in sixth grade at Bugenhagen School and lives with ADHD, which sometimes makes everyday life challenging. Above all, he struggles with hyperactivity, inattention, and severe difficulty concentrating.

Four years ago, he helmed a small catamaran for the first time. Since this year, he has been enthusiastically sailing with Wir sind Wir. When sailing, he finds it much easier to concentrate. Here, he finds his center and realizes that he can handle even more complex situations. He can understand and follow instructions without any trouble—something he finds very difficult in other situations. He also has a very good feel for the wind and for steering a boat.

Nomine Fabian

Nomine uses a wheelchair and has been sailing since she was five. She earned her sailing license at age eight and already has impressive regatta experience.

In 2024, she made her debut at the HelgaCup in Hamburg and won right away with her partner, Jola Schönebeck. That same year, she also won the Heinz Kettler Cup in Schwerin with her sailing partner Silke Basedow. In 2025, she was runner-up at the Helga Cup with Jola Schönebeck and, as part of Sail GP Germany in Sassnitz, became the International German Champion in inclusive sailing with Silke Basedow, as well as the winner of the second day of competition at the Heinz Kettler Cup.

An entire book could be written about her joy, enthusiasm, and ambition as she pursues her athletic interests.

Titus, 13 years old

Titus has juvenile macular dystrophy, a visual impairment. Water has always been his element, and he loves to swim and paddle on the water.

When he was about ten years old, he developed a desire to learn to sail. At first, a summer camp course was more of a source of stress for him—it was impossible to follow the instructions because, due to his visual impairment, he couldn’t see the buoys he was supposed to sail around, for example.

Together with his coach Calle and the “Wir sind Wir” club, things are different now, and he loves feeling the wind in his face on the Alster. “To me, sailing means fun and freedom,” says Titus.