Please select your home edition
Edition
RS Sailing 2021 - LEADERBOARD

Australian Team announced for 2023 Sailing World Championships

by Australian Sailing Team 31 Jul 2023 16:41 AEST
Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas © Mark Lloyd / World Sailing

Ten World Championships will be on the line when the 51 selected Australian athletes hit the water at the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships in The Netherlands next month.

This will be the first-time nations will have the chance to secure quota spots for Paris, and the first combined Sailing World Championships since 2018. Australia will have athletes competing in all ten Olympic classes at the event, which will be take place in The Hague, The Netherlands from 11-20 August.

"Our team is incredibly excited and well prepared for the Worlds," said Australian Sailing Team High Performance Director Iain Brambell.

"We've had some great results throughout the 2023 season, which has the team in an excellent position for success in The Hague. We have built our preparation around the opportunity to win World Titles and ensure Australia achieves 2024 Olympic qualification across as many classes as possible at this initial Olympic qualifier."

The team will again be led by Matt Wearn OAM, with the Tokyo Olympic champion returning to form with a win at the recent Olympic Test Event.

"I am really looking forward to the Worlds, it has been a number of years since I have had the chance to compete at the combined event so it's exciting to have that opportunity again," said Wearn.

"With the Hague being on the North Sea it offers some different conditions to what we normally race in in Europe with the tidal flow being the biggest challenge. If you get the tide moving in a different direction to the wind it can make for some extremely tough racing."

Australia has a long history of success in the 470 class, and the team of Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas continued their emergence at the Test Event where they finished sixth.

Conor and I are coming off the back of a good performance at the Test Event, we both felt that we still left plenty of points on the table in Marseille," said Jerwood. "It will be great to have another opportunity this European season to improve again.

"The lead-in to this event is a bit different as we will only be allowed to access the venue a few days before racing kicks off. To make sure we get the best preparation possible we will be training in Nieuwpoort, Belgium to try and simulate the conditions we will have in The Hague."

The following Paris 2024 country quota spots will be available at the 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships:

  • Men's One Person Dinghy (ILCA 7) - 16
  • Women's One Person Dinghy (ILCA 6) - 16
  • Men's Skiff (49er) - 10
  • Women's Skiff (49erFX) - 10
  • Men's Kite (Formula Kite) - 8
  • Women's Kite (Formula Kite) - 8
  • Men's Windsurfing (iQFOiL) - 11
  • Women's Windsurfing (iQFOiL) - 11
  • Mixed Two Person Dinghy (470) - 8
  • Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17) - 9

With multiple entries per nation allowed at the World Championships, it is the top unique finishing nations that will earn the quota spots. For example, if two Australians finish in the top ten of the Men's Skiff it will earn Australia one quota spot and the 11th-placed team will be offered the quota spot (provided another entry from their nation had not already earned the spot by finishing in the top ten). You can read more about the Olympic qualification system here. The host country France receives automatic entry in every event.

For the first time four Para Sailing World Championships will be held alongside their Olympic counterparts, with the Hansa 303 (Men and Women), 2.4 Meter and RS Venture Connect set to compete in The Hague. Australia will have Alison Weatherly (Women's Hansa 303) and Peter Coleman (Men's Hansa 303) competing.

The 2023 Allianz Sailing World Championships are expecting more than 900 boats and 1,400 participants from over 90 nations.

"We are delighted with how the team has prepared for this event," concluded Brambell. "But we are nowhere close to being content. We are here to compete and earn Medal Races and Series, and will be putting everything we have into ensuring we leave with more medals and confirmed Olympic quotas."

The regatta will include tracking from SAP, with more information (including the Notice of Race) available on the event website.

2023 Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (ASS) and Australian Sailing Futures (ASF) Sailing World Championships Selections:

Overall Results:

Women's iQFOiLMen's iQFOiL
Samantha Costin (ASF/QLD)Grae Morris (ASS/NSW)
ILCA 6ILCA 7
Zoe Thomson (AST/WA)Matt Wearn (AST/WA)
Elyse Ainsworth (ASS/WA)Finn Alexander (ASS/NSW)
Casey Imeneo (ASS/VIC)Luke Elliott (ASS/NSW)
Mara Stranksy (ASS/QLD)Zac Littlewood (ASS/WA)
Evie Saunders (ASF/NSW)Ethan McAullay (ASS/WA)
Sylvie Stannage (ASF/NSW) 
49erFX49er
Laura Harding & Annie Wilmot (ASS/VIC & NSW)Jim Colley & Shaun Conor (AST/NSW)
Olivia Price & Evie Haseldine (ASS/NSW)Tom Burton & Max Paul (ASS/NSW)
Natasha Bryant & Madeleine McLeay (ASF/NSW)Thomas Needham & Joel Turner (ASS/QLD)
Mina Ferguson (ASF/NSW) & Dervla Duggan (ASS/VIC)Thomas Cunich & Miles Davey (ASF/NSW)
Women's Formula KiteMixed 470
Breiana Whitehead (AST/QLD)Nia Jerwood & Conor Nicholas (ASS/WA)
Men's Formula KiteNacra 17
Hector Paturau (ASS/WA)Lisa Darmanin (AST) & Darren Bundock (NSW)
Scott Whitehead (ASS/QLD)Jake Liddell & Lucy Copeland (ASS/NSW)
Oscar Timm (ASF/QLD)Archie Gargett & Sarah Hoffman (ASF/NSW)
Men's Hansa 303Women's Hansa 303
Peter Coleman (VIC)Alison Weatherly (VIC)

Related Articles

Bronze breakthrough for Liddell and Brown
Nacra 17 duo claim their first international podium at Kieler Woche Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown have claimed their first international podium in the Nacra 17 class, securing bronze at Kieler Woche, the third Sailing Grand Slam event of the season. Posted on 30 Jun
Aussies Break into Top 10 at Kieler Woche
Put to the test from light air to heavy breeze The first half of Kieler Woche has wrapped up in Germany, with Australian sailors putting themselves to the test in five Olympic classes. Kiel delivered a complete spectrum of conditions for athletes to sharpen their racing skills. Posted on 26 Jun
Australian Sailors ready to tackle Kiel Week
The third event within the five event Sailing Grand Slam Australia's Olympic class sailors are set to tackle Kiel Week, the third event within the five event Sailing Grand Slam, held in the north of Germany. Posted on 21 Jun
Top 10 finishes for Aussie crews in Europeans
Australia's 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 sailors have wrapped up a demanding week in Greece Australia's 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 sailors have wrapped up a demanding European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, with light winds, lengthy delays, and multiple general recalls pushing teams to their limits throughout the week. Posted on 9 Jun
Young Aussie squad ready to shine at Europeans
Australia's fast boat sailors are set for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Europeans in Greece Australia's fast boat sailors are set to take on the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 European Championships this week in Thessaloniki, Greece. With up to 18 races scheduled over the next six days, it's set to be a high-intensity regatta. Posted on 2 Jun
Whitehead finish 9th at Formula Kite Europeans
A confident return to international competition in Urla, Türkiye Australia's Breiana Whitehead has made a confident return to international competition, finishing ninth overall at the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships in Urla, Türkiye. Posted on 20 May
Littlewood claims bronze in ILCA7 Worlds
It was a tale of two winds that decided the World Champions Zac Littlewood has claimed a bronze medal at the ILCA 7 World Championships in Qingdao, China, after an intense and unpredictable week of racing. Posted on 17 May
Breiana Whitehead set for Formula Kite Europeans
The Australian kitefoiler is back on the international stage this week Australian kitefoiler Breiana Whitehead is back on the international stage this week, as she lines up against top level competition at the 2025 Formula Kite European Championships in Urla, Türkiye from May 14 to 19. Posted on 14 May
Game on in Qingdao for the 2025 ILCA Worlds
237 of the world's best sailors from 40 nations prepare to battle it out The stage is set in Qingdao, China, as 237 of the world's best sailors from 40 nations prepare to battle it out over six intense days of racing at the 2025 ILCA6 and ILCA7 World Championships. Posted on 12 May
Matt Allen AM matches AOC funding
To support 2024 Olympic Podium Performing Sailors Matt Allen AM has once again demonstrated his unwavering support for sailing by generously matching the Australian Olympic Committee's Medal Incentive Funding (MIF) for Olympic champion Matt Wearn and Paris 2024 silver medallist Grae Morris. Posted on 2 May
sMRT AIS Man Overboard Beacons AUS / NZSelden 2020 - FOOTERMaritimo M75