2018 Youth Worlds team selection - Top U.S. domestic events to be used

by US Sailing on 26 Sep 2017 US Sailing has released details of the athlete selection system for the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championship (July 14?21, 2018), which will be held in home waters at Corpus Christi, Texas. In seven of the nine classes, the selection process will consist of two well-established domestic youth regattas.

“We have been happy with the two-event system, which has been proven successful both for selecting the best sailors for the Youth Worlds and for fostering strong competition here at home,” said Leandro Spina (Miami, Fla.) US Sailing’s Olympic Development Director. “Using existing class racing events for our Youth Worlds qualifiers is beneficial to many important groups in U.S. youth sailing. It helps improve the health of key skill-building youth classes, and allows us to have a logical, non-disruptive and class-by-class approach to selecting our team. The Olympic Development Program (ODP), which manages the Youth Worlds Team, wants to keep working closely with athletes, parents, regatta managers, regional racing teams and class associations to build a stronger youth racing pipeline for high-performance sailing. As the world’s premier junior regatta, the Youth Worlds is a big focus for us.”

For the complete 2018 U.S. Youth Worlds Team Selection Procedures, click here.

Key Info:

• 2018 Youth Worlds Venue: Corpus Christi, TX, USA | July 14?21, 2018
• Age Eligibility: All prospective athletes shall be under the age of 19 years on 31 December 2018 (born after 31 December 1999).
• Equipment: The USA qualification events to the Youth Worlds will be conducted with the equipment (sailboat classes) listed below. This list is subject to change if and only if World Sailing announces a different list of equipment for the Youth Worlds.
o Boy’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
o Girls’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
o Boy’s Two Person Dinghy – i420
o Girls’s Two Person Dinghy – i420
o Boy’s Windsurfer – RS:X with 8.5m2 sail & 60cm fin
o Girl’s Windsurfer – RS:X with 8.5m2 sail & 60cm fin
o Boy’s Skiff – 29er
o Girl’s Skiff – 29er
o Mixed Multihull – Nacra 15

USA Qualification to the Youth Worlds

US Sailing’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) will select one eligible prospective athlete in each of the single?handed classes and one team of two eligible prospective athletes for each of the double?handed classes to represent their country at the 48th Youth Sailing World Championship 2018 to be held in Corpus Christi, USA.

Laser Radial, i420, 29er & Nacra15 : qualification will be based on a two?event qualification system as outlined below:

First Event:

• Laser Radial: Radial Atlantic Coast Championship | January 13-15 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• i420: i420 North American Championship | January 13-15 | Coconut Grove, FL
• 29er: Spring High Performance Regatta | March 2-4 | Houston, TX
• Nacra 15: Nacra 15 Regatta |January 2-4|Clearwater, FL

Second Event:

• Laser Radial: Spring High Performance Regatta | March 2-?4 | Houston, TX
• i420: i420 Midwinter Championship |February 17-?19 | Miami Beach, FL
• 29er: 29er Midwinters East |March 16-?18 | Coconut Grove, FL
• Nacra 15: Nacra 15 Regatta | Dates TBD | California

RS:X (both genders): Qualification system will be announced at a later date