Town plays host to Paralympic sailing team

Thanks to the foresight of Carrickfergus Borough Council in putting the borough forward as a pre-Olympic training site, the combination of state-of-the-art facilities at marina and the expertise of Belfast Lough Sailability (BLS) - a volunteer-based charity - ensured the Irish athletes had an exciting and challenging training camp.

BLS, along with Carrickfergus Marina, have been recognised as having a unique partnership in the area of sailing for people with disability. Carrickfergus Sailing Club also provides invaluable support to BLS.

Miss Northern Ireland, Tiffany Brien, is also an Olympic class sailor and an ambassador for the charity.

“I wish the Irish Paralympic Sailing team great success in their Olympic challenge and I know they enjoyed their training at Carrickfergus.”

Jim Boyd, Chair of BLS said: “I believe this is only the start, and potentially teams from further afield will be using our combined expertise to train in the best sailing waters in the UK, at a five-anchor marina already strongly committed to supporting disabled sailing.

“In partnership with Carrickfergus Borough Council, we are now recognised as leaders in sailing for people with disability and together we can go from strength to strength.”