Qualification for Paris 2024 starts at the 2023 Sailing World Championships

by Sail Canada 9 Aug 2023 14:30 PDT 10-20 August 2023

Qualification for Paris 2024 starts at the 2023 Sailing World Championships © Sailing Energy

Canadian sailors will get their first opportunity to qualify spots for the country and/or themselves at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games - and potentially could become the very first confirmed Canadian athletes to qualify to be nominated for Team Canada for Paris 2024 - when they will take part in the 2023 Sailing World Championships to be held August 11-20 in The Hague, Netherlands.

The competition, which is held every four years by the international federation, World Sailing, will include all 10 Olympic classes. Each country could have at least one entry in each class, or more depending on results earned at the 2022 World Championships for each class.

A strong field of competitors will be in action as it will be the very first opportunity for sailors to try and secure spots for their country heading towards Paris 2024. To date, over 1,100 sailors have registered in the 10 Olympic classes and 76% of all the medalists from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games or the 2022 World Championships in the Olympic events will be present.

24 Canadian sailors set to battle

Canada will have a total of 24 athletes who will compete in the 49er, 49erFX, the Men's and Women's Kiteboarding, the Women's Windsurfing (iQFoil) as well as the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 events, in addition to parasailing in the RS Venture Connect class. The full list of participating athletes is available below.

Sarah Douglas, from Toronto, will be among those who will be aiming to secure a spot at Paris 2024 less than a year before the Opening Ceremonies.

"I'm looking forward to competing at the 2023 Sailing World Championships in The Hague," said Douglas. "It's super cool to be competing at the World Championships with all of the classes, something we only get to do every four years.

"These Worlds will be the first opportunity to qualify for Paris 2024 and I'm looking to qualify Canada and potentially myself. Everyone is peaking for this event, so I expect a high level of competition with a lot on the line. This venue has a strong tidal current, which will play a major factor in the racing and something I'll be keeping a close eye on."

In 49erFX, the Canadian team comprised of Ali ten Hove (Kingston, ON) and Mariah Millen (Toronto, ON) had to withdraw due to a knee injury suffered by Millen at the Paris 2024 Test Event in mid-July.

Qualification spots for Paris 2024

At the 2023 Sailing World Championships, countries will be able for the very first time to qualify spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games based on the following quota allocation available in The Hague. Only one athlete/team per country in each class can take part in the Olympic Games.

Top 8: Kiteboarding (men and women), Mixed Dinghy/470
Top 9: Mixed Multihull/Nacra 17
Top 10: Men's Skiff/49er, Women's Skiff/49erFX
Top 11: Men and Women Windsurfing/iQFoil
Top 16: Women's Dinghy/ILCA 6, Men's Dinghy/ILCA 7

Other opportunities for Canadian sailors to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will follow at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, the continental qualification event for Canada; at the 2024 Last Chance Regatta next spring; and, for the ILCA classes, at the 2024 ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 World Championships in January 2024.

Canadian qualification process

At the 2023 Sailing World Championships, Canadian sailors will also aim to qualify themselves or their team to be nominated for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games team and, therefore, to become the very first confirmed Canadian athletes to qualify to be nominated for Team Canada for Paris 2024.

To do so at the 2023 Sailing World Championships, a Canadian sailor/team will need to:

Scenario 1 - to qualify directly to be nominated for Paris 2024
-If an athlete/team finishes the 2023 Sailing World Championships in the top eight (8) in its class;
-And no other Canadian team/athlete places within 10 overall finish positions from the team that finished in the top 8 (ie. 8th position and 19th).

In such a case, the athlete/team will qualify to be nominated for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Scenario 2 - through the Canadian qualification process
-If one (1) athlete/team or more finish the 2023 Sailing World Championships in the top eight (8) in its class.
-And/or if there is one or more athlete/team within 10 overall finish positions from the team with the lower top 8 result (i.e. 8th position and 18th), the trial process will continue only for these athletes/teams involved.

The following trial process will apply: the athlete/team with the lowest score combined position (ex. 1st+21st) from the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta, added together, will be selected based on a sailing scoring system (lowest score first). If there is a tie, the athlete/team in best position (based on the sailing scoring system) at the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta will qualify to be nominated.

If an event is cancelled, it will be replaced by the 2024 European Championships of the class.

If an athlete/team earns a spot for Canada at the 2023 Sailing World Championships, but no athlete/team qualifies themselves, the same trial process as in Scenario 2 will apply.

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee's Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organisations.

Medal races to be streamed on CBC Sports digital platforms
Canadian fans will be able to cheer on their athletes at the 2023 Sailing World Championships as the competition's medal races will be streamed live on CBC Sports digital platforms. Canadian sailing fans will be able to follow the action on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbc.ca/sports and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices from August 16 to 20.

The schedule for the medal races is as follows:

Wednesday, August 16, 2023: RS Venture Connect
6am-8am (ET)

Thursday, August 17, 2023: 470 and Nacra 17
8am-10am (ET)

Friday, August 18, 2023: 49er and 49erFX
8am-10am (ET)

Saturday, August 19, 2023: iQFoil and Kiteboarding (quarterfinals, semifinals and finals)
5am-7am (ET) and 8am-11am (ET)

Sunday, August 20, 2023: ILCA 6 and ILCA 7
8am-10am (ET)

Canadian sailors at the 2023 Sailing World Championships

ILCA 6/Women's Dinghy (/110)