Sailing Grand Slam publishes 2026 Notice of Race for full Olympic-class series
by Sailing Grand Slam 5 Dec 2025 17:05 AEDT
Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels © Sailing Energy
Sailing Grand Slam (SGS) announced the publication of the 2026 Notice of Race (NOR) for its full series of Olympic-class events, marking the first complete edition of the international circuit after a successful pilot season in 2025. The publication gives teams a clear, long-term framework for their road to Los Angeles 2028, with a series built around one simple principle: the sailor comes first.
The 2026 SGS calendar brings together five major Olympic regattas, in chronological order. The season opens in Spain with the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels(27 March to 4 April), followed by Semaine Olympique Française - Hyères on the French Mediterranean coast (18-25 April). From there, the circuit moves north to Dutch Water Week in Almere on the Ijmeer (30 May to 7 June), then to Germany's iconic Kieler Woche (20-28 June). The European block is followed by the Pre-Olympic Event in Los Angeles, the Long Beach & Los Angeles OCR (13 July to 7 August), connecting the SGS series directly to the Olympic waters of 2028.
Across all ten Olympic disciplines, athletes will race for SGS ranking points, visibility, and a structured pathway towards a potential season-ending final. The classes invited to compete in each of the SGS events are: the women's ILCA 6, 49er FX, iQFOiL and Formula Kite; the men's ILCA 7, 49er, iQFOiL and Formula Kite; and the mixed 470 and Nacra 17.
Please note: in the NOR appendix, you'll find the detailed racing schedule for Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels and the Semaine Olympique Française - Hyères with the other regattas' details to follow in early 2026.
SGS Ranking combined with class World Championship
The SGS ranking combines results from all five Grand Slam events with each Olympic class World Championship. Based on that ranking, SGS is working towards the option of a season-ending Sailing Grand Slam Final, in which the world's top athletes per discipline could be invited to compete for overall series honours and prize money.
The framework for such a final is laid down in the NOR as a potential next step for the series, to be activated once the organisational and commercial conditions are fully in place. Until then, the focus is clear: deliver world-class events, give athletes a coherent circuit and build the value of the sport together.
Dates through 2028 available online
All event dates for the Sailing Grand Slam series through 2028 - including Dutch Water Week and the Pre-Olympic Test Event in Los Angeles - are available on the official Sailing Grand Slam website. This long-term visibility is designed to help athletes, teams and federations plan their Olympic campaigns more efficiently and to support a season-long narrative around the SGS ranking.
The full 2026 Notice of Race for the Sailing Grand Slam series can be downloaded from the SGS website.