World Sailing

The following are the main disciplines:

• Fleet Racing – The commonest form of competitive sailing involving boats racing around a course.[5]
• Match Racing – Two identical boats race against each other. This is one-on-one duel requires strategy and tactics. The first to cross the finish line wins.[6]
• Team Racing – Two teams each of normally three boats compete against each other. Fast paced racing depends on excellent boat handling skills and rapid tactical decision making.[7]
• Offshore/Oceanic – Any offshore race over 800 miles, including races around the world.[8]
• Speed Sailing - Is managed by World Sailing Speed Record Council
• Wave riding is common to board sports
• Both windsurfing and kiteboarding are experimenting with new formats.
• Cruising – Can be a coastal day sail or a longer distance international journeys, it is the most commonly enjoyed sailing discipline.[9]

Common categories of equipment include the following: dinghies, multihulls, keelboats, sailing yacht, windsurfers, kiteboarding and radio-controlled sailboats. Within these categories normally specific class or rating system are used.

The majority of sailing events are "open" events in which males and females compete together on equal terms either as individuals or part of team. Sailing has had female only World Championships since the 1970s to encourage participation and now host more than 30 such World Championship titles each year. For the 2016 Olympics, compulsory mixed gender in the event was added for the first time.

In addition the following categories are sometimes applied to events:

• Age
• Nationality
• Disabled Classification
• Sailor Classification

Like all sports federations, World Sailing is composed of "Member National Authorities" (MNA's) from over 140 countries all of whom have the right to make submissions to determine World Sailing's policies.[13]

Persons with a physical impairment who are interested to learn to sail are encouraged[14] to locate their national World Sailing Member National Authority (MNA), Disabled Sports Organization, or visit the local sailing club, as World Sailing seeks to integrate the differently abled into the sport.

The federation recognizes over 80 classes which are each entitled to hold world championships.[15]

• Offshore Racing Congress (ORC)[16]
• World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC)[17]
• International Radio Sailing Association (IRSA)[18]

World Sailing is responsible for administration of the Olympic Sailing Regatta. Sailing (called yachting in the early years) has been a mainstay of the modern summer Olympic games since 1896, omitted only from the 1904 summer games in St. Louis.[19][20]

To help encourage high level international competition in the Classes used for the Olympic Games, World Sailing arrange the following events:

• Sailing World Championships this is held every four years and is the combined World Championships for the Olympic classes and used as part of the Olympic Qualifying procedure
• Sailing World Cup and annual global sailing tour

Sailing as an equipment based sports allows one of the largest ranges of paralympians to compete under equal terms. Sailing was included for the first time in the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games program as a demonstration event. It became a full medal sport at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games up to 2020 were IPC removed sailing from the paralympic program. Many changes are underway to get sailing reinstated for 2024 starting with the administration of the sport moving from affiliated member of the World Sailing the International Association for Disabled Sailing to being directly controlled.

Sailing in these paralympics was open to athletes with physical impairments.[21] The classification system was based on: hand function, stability, mobility and vision. Athletes compete in three events, which are non-gender specified but were discipline (equipment) specific.

Each World Sailing class is entitled to hold a world championship

The following World Championships are held:[22]

• Sailing World Championships
• Sailing World Cup Series
• Youth Sailing World Championships
• Team Racing World Championship
• Offshore Team Racing World Championship
• Women's Match World Championship
• Open Match Racing World Championship (Presently awarded to the overall winner of the World Match Racing Tour)
• eSailing World Championship (2018 Onwards)
• Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat World Championship (2019 Onwards)
• Nations Cup match racing
• IYRU Women's World Championships (from 1978 to 1992)

• Offshore Racing Congress
• International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS)
• International Radio Sailing Association

• America's Cup
• Star Sailors League
• Extreme 40 Sailing Series
• PWA Tour
• SailGP[23]
• Volvo Ocean Race
• World Match Racing Tour

From 1906 to 1946 a chairman was elected from time to time to orchestrate the annual meetings.

• 1946–1955: Sir Ralph Gore was elected the first President
• 1955–1969: Sir Peter Scott
• 1969–1986:  Beppe Croce (ITA)
• 1986–1994:  Peter Tallberg (FIN)
• 1994–2004:  Paul Henderson (CAN)
• 2004–2012:  Göran Petersson (SWE)
• 2012–2016:  Carlo Croce (ITA)
• 2016–2020:  Kim Andersen (DEN)
• 2020–Present:  Quanhai Li (CHN)

Vice presidents have been elected since 1955.

• 1998–2008:  David Kellett (AUS)
• 2004–2012:  David Irish (USA), Teresa Lara,  Teo Ping Low (SIN)
• 2008–2012:  Alberto Predieri (ITA), Eric Tulla, Tomasz Holc
• 2008–2016:  Nazli Imre (TUR)
• 2012–2016:  Georg Andreadis (GRE),  Chris Atkins (GBR), Adrienne Greenwood
• 2010–2020:  Gary Jobson (USA),  Quanhai Li (CHN),  Scott Perry (URU)
• 2016–2020:  Jan Dawson (NZL),  Torben Grael (BRA),  Ana Sanchez (ESP),  Nadine Stegenwalner (GER)
• 2020-Present:  Duriye Özlem Akdurak (TUR),  Philip Baum (RSA),  Tomasz Chamera (POL),  Sarah Kenny (AUS),  Cory Sertl (USA),  Marcus Spillane (IRL), Jo Aleh (Athlete commission)

• 1958–1991: HM King Olav V of Norway
• 1994–present: HM King Constantine II of Greece,[27] HM King Harald V of Norway

There are four types of race officials used to conduct sailing events recognised by World Sailing as follows:

• International Judge
• International Measurer
• International Race Officer
• International Umpire

The main annual award the "Rolex World Sailor of the Year" that is sponsored by ROLEX in the following categories:

• Male World Sailor of the Year
• Female World Sailor of the Year

When a crew of 1, 2 or 3 people is nominated, the awarded is presented to the entire crew. When larger crews win the award, normally only the skipper is recognised.

On 5 November 2007 in Estoril, Portugal, the International Sailing Federation announced the first six inductees for the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame.[28][29]

• Olin Stephens (USA)
• Dame Ellen MacArthur (GBR)
• Paul Elvstrøm (DEN)
• Barbara Kendall (NZL)
• Eric Tabarly (FRA)
• Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (GBR)

At the 2015 Annual Conference in Sanya, China, there were seven further inductees.[29]

• Dennis Conner (USA)
• Alessandra Sensini (ITA)
• Harold Vanderbilt (USA)
• Sir Peter Blake (NZL)
• Buddy Melges (USA)
• Valentin Mankin (RUS)
• Torben Grael (BRA)

The Beppe Croce Trophy is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing. The roll of honour is an impressive one, including multiple Olympic medallists, rules gurus and designers, and all have dedicated an outstanding amount of time to the sport of sailing. Recipients are presented with a replica trophy.