The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) today published the provisional dates and venues for the World Championships of the events selected for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition.
The World Championships for the Olympic events are one of the annual highlights of the sailing calendar. Over the course of the year thousands of sailors will compete for the honour of World Championship glory in their chosen Olympic event. In contrast to the ISAF Sailing World Cup series, where the competitors' abilities are measured over the course of seven events across Oceania, North America and Europe, the World Championships are a one-off, winner-takes-all affair, with each Olympic event visiting a different venue every year.
The London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition is comprised of 10 events, featuring racing in eight different classes or equipment (the two person 470 dinghy and RS:X windsurfer both have separate event for men and women). Dates and venues for the World Championships are selected by the respective International Class Associations of the equipment chosen for the sailing events of London 2012. These details are then submitted to ISAF for approval and confirmation. The date and venue of the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship is selected by the ISAF Match Racing Committee.
The battle for the 2010 World Championship begins almost as soon as the New Year gets underway, with the 49er World Championship kicking off in Freeport, The Bahamas, on 2 January. Next up the illustrious names of the Star class are set to do battle at the world famous Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club in Brazil. There is then an extended break with the next World title battles arriving with the start of the European summer sailing season. July brings with it the 470 Worlds in The Netherlands and the Laser Radial Worlds in Great Britain. Following on in August/September are the Laser Worlds in Great Britain, the Finn Gold Cup in the USA and the RS:X Worlds in Denmark. The World Championship season draws to a close with the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in New York, USA.
The dates and venue details for the 2010 World Championships are:
Men's One Person Dinghy
27 August-5 September 2010 – Laser World Standard Senior Championship – Hayling Island, Great Britain
Men's One Person Dinghy Heavy
27 August-4 September 2010 – Finn Gold Cup – St Francis, USA
Men's Two Person Dinghy
9-18 July 2010 – 470 World Championship – The Hague, The Netherlands
Men's Two Person Dinghy High Performance
2-9 January 2010 – 49er World Championship – Freeport, The Bahamas
Men's Keelboat
12-23 January 2010 – Star World Championship – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Men's Windsurfer
28 August-5 September 2010 – RS:X World Championship – Kerteminde, Denmark
Women's One Person Dinghy
6-14 July 2010 – Laser Radial World Championship – Largs, Great Britain
Women's Two Person Dinghy
9-18 July 2010 – 470 World Championship – The Hague, The Netherlands
Women's Windsurfer
28 August-5 September 2010 – RS:X World Championship – Kerteminde, Denmark
Women's Keelboat Match Racing
20-25 September 2010 – ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship – Newport, Rhode Island, USA
Perth 2011
Following on from next year, in 2011 all the World title battles in the Olympic events are combined into one massive championship – the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships. As well as hosting the battle for the World Championships in the 10 Olympic sailing events, Perth 2011 is also the principle qualification event for the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. Find out more about Perth 2011 and the ISAF Sailing World Championships at www.sailing.org/isafworlds.
