42 sailors of the 2.4mR class – with and without physical limitations – sailed August 4-6, 2022, on the Wannsee for title honors at the 2022 International German Championships (IDM 2022).

The Berlin Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger, who also oversees the area of ​​sports, opened the IDM with words of praise for Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee’s (VSaW) commitment to inclusion, and expressed her pleasure to have VSaW as one of the organizing clubs of the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.

Afterwards, she personally took a picture of the new floating dock, and emphasized her support for the initiative beyond 2023 as it successfully promotes inclusion.

Eight races were planned across three days of racing. Unfortunately, the wind didn’t always play along as the athletes and organizers would have liked.

All races had to be canceled on the first race day, as the calm did not allow for any racing. In the alternative program, the time was passed with great fun with model boats. Some opted to take a trip on starting vessel Lieselotte toward Potsdam, for which the mast first had to be put down because of the bridges to be crossed.

Everyone had high hopes for the second day of racing. In deviation from the sailing instructions, the number of races to be sailed for this day was increased to four. That was a good thing and the wind played along, allowing the four races to be completed.

The same optimism was brought to the third day of racing – three races were scheduled, up from two. But similar to day one, the wind brought the participants and the race committee close to despair. However, one more race was brought to the finish line, bringing the race weekend to an end, and five races were enough for the championship title to be awarded.

Once again, Heiko Kröger (Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) was able to place himself at the top of the podium; Antonio Squizzato from Italy finished second ahead of VSaW’s Oliver Thies. Heiko and Antonio were also in the first two places in the Para classification; third was Davide de Maria, also from Italy.