2016 Youth Worlds - Auckland is confirmed as venue in December

by Sail-World.com NZL on 4 May 2016 After the withdrawal of Oman, World Sailing has confirmed that Auckland, New Zealand has been confirmed as the host venue for the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships.

The 2016 selection process was opened in March 2016 after the Oman Sailing Committee exercised the right to withdraw their hosting of the event.

After bids were re-opened it was determined that Auckland will host the Youth Worlds in conjunction with World Sailing and Yachting New Zealand from 14 - 20 December 2016.

Torbay on Auckland's North Shore will be named as the venue for the event which is the pinnacle event for Youth Sailing. Entry is limited to one crew per country in each of Boys and Girls Windsurfer (RS:X), Boys and Girls Single Hander (Laser Radial), Double Hander, Skiff (29er) and Mulitihull. The event is expected to attract around 400 young sailors from up to 70 nations to Auckland.

The venue has not previously hosted a World Championship and will also host the sailing side of the World Games in late April 2017. The Torbay Sailing Club has hosted several large national championships and the annual Sir Peter Blake Regatta.

According to Club sources the regatta will be jointly organised by World Sailing and Yachting New Zealand, using Torbay's facilities as a venue.

Yachting NZ is expected to form an organising committee to run the event, and Torbay SC will have a representative on that body.

A big saving on space requirements and logistics is the prohibition of coach boats on the water. The beach will continue to be open to the public for the duration of the regatta.

Auckland was the mid-race stopover for the 2011/12 and 2014/15 Volvo Ocean Races and will also be the stopover for the 2017/18 edition of the Round the World classic.

The event is expected to attract around 400 young sailors from up to 70 nations to Auckland and bring benefit to the local community and young sailors throughout New Zealand.

It is hoped that the Torbay SC's new clubhouse facility will be ready for the event. Currently it is believed that there is still a budget shortfall.

World Sailing has started working with the Youth Worlds boat suppliers Nautivela, Ovington, Neil Pryde, Maclaren and Nacra Racing to ensure that all competitors attending the Youth Worlds will receive supplied equipment.

The Notice of Race, registration process and further information for attending sailors will be published on the Youth Worlds website in due course.

The 2016 Youth Worlds will be the second major sailing event to be held in the SW Pacific in December 2016.

World Sailing recently announced that the Final of the 2016 Sailing World Cup will be held in Melbourne, Australia, from December 4-11, 2016

The Youth Worlds was first held in Sweden in 1971. The 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships in Auckland will be the 46th edition of the championship.

Past notable winners include American's Cup skippers, Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL); Olympic medallists, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), Iain Jensen (AUS), Robert Scheidt (BRA), Amelie Lux (GER), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Iain Percy (GBR), Alessandra Sensini (ITA), Elise Rechichi (AUS) and Tessa Parkinson (AUS); Volvo Ocean Race sailors like Stuart Bannatyne (NZL) and Richard Clarke (CAN).

The most successful Youth World Champions are Great Britain's Sally Cuthbert and Poland's Zofia Klepacka having won four successive titles in the Laser II and Mistral respectively.

Australia is the current holder of the Nations Trophy, awarded annually to the top performing nation at the Youth Worlds. France is the most success nation through the history of the Championship, winning the Nations Trophy on a record eleven occasions and holding a record 76 medals: 28 gold, 30 silver and 18 bronze.