My name is Méabh Killalea and I am a first-year medical student at UCD. I am completing an SSRA summer research project based on the Watersports Inclusion Games, under the supervision of Professor Elizabeth Barrett and in collaboration with the Event Coordinator Johanne Murphy.
The Watersports Inclusion Games is an annual event where people of a range of different abilities, and those who experience barriers accessing mainstream sports, can participate in a variety of different sporting activities (including sailing, motor/powerboating, canoeing, dragon boating, rowing, waterskiing, snorkelling, tennis and more). This year the Games were held in Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club on June 24th and 25th. I volunteered for the first time at the event, and it was extremely rewarding to see all of the participants’ smiles and hear stories of their experiences first-hand; from their first experience on a powerboat to the thrill of water skiing in the harbour and the feeling of the wind in their hair.
I invited participants, their parents/guardians, and volunteers to leave a message 
on the UCD School of Medicine Feedback Wall, which was extremely insightful and provided the immediate reaction of the participants and volunteers 
at the games. Attendees of the event also contributed to a mural on the wall of the boat shed and received certificates that they decorated themselves.
As part of continuing the legacy of the games and to thank the host club, the President of Irish Sailing John Twomey presented the club with a hoist to aid with the transfer of members to boats. He also announced that the Try Sailing initiative will start being held weekly in Wexford.
Following the event, we will be circulating a survey to both participants and to volunteers, to investigate the benefits of inclusive water sports for young people with a physical and/or intellectual disability. The survey will also be circulated to the volunteers who assisted with the organisation and flow of the event. We are especially interested in discovering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the young people’s mental health and their access to inclusive sporting activities.
The findings of the surveys will be presented on the SSRA Poster Night in the UCD Charles Institute, in September.