Keelboats return for Paris 2024 Olympics

Sarasota, FL (November 2, 2018) – The 2018 World Sailing Annual Conference took a turn today as the hard work and decisions at the committee level got advanced for the first of a two day meeting of World Sailing’s Council.

Arguably the major announcement of the day is how a Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore event will be featured at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after World Sailing’s Council voted in favour of it replacing the Mixed One Person Dinghy.

A lengthy morning debate on the adoption of an Offshore event replacing the Mixed One Person Dinghy was held before a decision was made. Although Council made the decision, it will still require ratification by delegates at the Annual General Meeting on November 4.

Further decisions were made on Equipment and criteria for Paris 2024.

To watch the full day of the Council meeting… click here.

Paris 2024 Olympic Events
At the 2018 Mid-Year meeting the following slate of Events was approved by Council:

• Men’s Windsurfer
• Women’s Windsurfer
• New Event, Mixed One-Person Dinghy
• New Event, Mixed Two Person Dinghy
• New Event, Mixed Kiteboard

They joined the following Events and their Equipment on the Paris 2024 slate:

• Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser*
• Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial*
• Women’s Skiff – 49erFX
• Men’s Skiff – 49er
• Mixed Two Person Multihull – Nacra 17

*subject to separate equipment re-evaluation

Although the decision was made, World Sailing’s Regulations allowed both the Events and Equipment to be amended if 75% of Council members voted in favour of making the change.

A lengthy debate on Submission 037-18 was held by members of the Council. The submission proposed that a Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore Event replace the Mixed One Person Dinghy.

31 Council members voted in favour of voting on change, eight were against and two abstained. As the 75% minimum was exceeded Council then voted on whether to approve the submission which would introduce the Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

29 Council members voted in favour of the Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore with nine against and two abstentions.

The decision will go to Sunday’s Annual General Meeting for ratification.

Paris 2024 Equipment
Ahead of the Conference, World Sailing received submissions related to Equipment criteria for the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Events that were approved at the 2018 Mid-Year Meeting:

• Men’s Windsurfer
• Women’s Windsurfer
• New Event, Mixed One-Person Dinghy
• New Event, Mixed Two Person Dinghy
• New Event, Mixed Kiteboard

Submissions were also received on the Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore should the Event be introduced to the slate.

Council discussed the Equipment Committee’s recommendations and decided that the RS:X would be retained for the Men’s and Women’s Windsurfer subject to a separate equipment re-evaluation.

The Mixed Kiteboarding will be on a foiling board with a RAM-Air (foil-kite) and the Mixed Two Person Dinghy will be a non-foiling displacement boat with a headsail, mainsail and spinnaker.

Following the Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore replacing the Mixed One Person Dinghy, Council voted on the Offshore Keelboat Equipment. At Paris 2024 the boat used will be a displacement monohull (non-foiling) with a shorthanded deck layout. The boat will be between 6-10 metres in hull length, able to perform in 4 to 40 knots with a proper sail inventory for all conditions and be a sloop rig with a spinnaker.

Equipment trials for the Mixed Kiteboarding, Mixed Two Person Dinghy and Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore will follow with the decision on the Equipment to be made at the 2019 Annual Conference.

President’s Report
World Sailing President Kim Andersen opened the meeting by delivering the President’s Speech. Andersen reflected on his presidency following his election in November 2016 and gave Council members an update on what the World Sailing Board have been working on.

Andersen touched on a wide variety of topics from sailing in the Paralympic and Olympic Games to events, finances and governance.

Paris 2024 Update
Jean-Philippe Gatien from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) delivered an update on the vision for the Games.

Gatien, a four-time Olympian and two-time medallist in table tennis, sailed the 105ft trimaran Sodebo Ultim back from Brazil to France following the Transat Jacques Vabres.

He gave an update on the Marseille venue and the next steps for how the OCOG and World Sailing will work together. He also took questions from Council members.

The meeting continues on tomorrow with a continuation of the discussions around submissions and subsequent decision making. Numerous committee and event reports will also be received.

Conference details – Twitter – Facebook – Youtube

Source: World Sailing