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CBS Chicago recently featured a segment about the Independence Cup, the nation’s premier and longest-running regatta for adaptive sailors.
The Independence Cup is sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program. Through the event, sailors with a range of functional impairments — from spinal cord injury to vision loss — compete on Lake Michigan in specially designed, accessible sailboats.
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Thirty sailors from around North America competed in the Independence Cup. CBS Chicago followed along with Ginny D., a visually impaired sailor from Toronto, and her crew as they got ready to race on Lake Michigan.
“As a visually impaired person, I was always the crew. I thought that’s all I could do,” said Ginny in the CBS segment. “In 2019, I joined a blind sailing group in Toronto, and, ever since then, I’ve been working on helming. I just love it — the freedom of being on the water, the invigoration, the wind on my face.”
The Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program has a longstanding mission of expanding access to sailing on Lake Michigan for people with physical impairments. Justin “Judd” Goldman was 17 when he experienced a bone disease that resulted in significant physical impairments. After realizing there were few sports he could participate in, Judd discovered sailing. After a lifetime of sailing, Judd passed away in 1989 at age 75.
In 1990, his wife, Sliv, son, Peter, and daughter, Judy, established the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation as a public/private partnership with the Chicago Park District. Over the next 35 years, the foundation offered a unique, learn-to-sail program to bring the joy and independence of adaptive sailing to thousands of participants. In 2026, a generous gift from the foundation and family of Peter and Carol Goldman helped to establish the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
“We’re really proud and honored to be a part of offering opportunities to everybody of all abilities,” said Derek Daniels, director of adaptive sports and fitness at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, in the CBS segment.
