Sardinia OpenSkiff Team Race World Championship 2026 - Day 2
by Elena Giolai 31 Oct 10:51 PDT
30 October 30 - 1 November 2026
Another exciting day of racing in Cagliari, with three round robins completed and the fourth interrupted by a thunderstorm. France and Poland 2 are tied on eight wins each, while Italy 1 moves up to third place. The final decisive races for the world title will begin on Sunday at 11:00 AM.
The Sardinia Team Race World Championship 2026 is becoming increasingly exciting as the second day of the OpenSkiff Team Racing World Championship concluded in the waters off Su Siccu. France and Poland 2 are now tied at the top, with eight wins from twelve matches each and a 67% win rate. The French team, defending world champions after claiming the title in Cagliari last year, provisionally holds first place on the tie-breaking criteria. Another day of light breezes and occasional clouds still provided suitable conditions to complete the second round robin, which had remained unfinished on Friday, and the entire third round robin. With plenty of time still available in the early afternoon, the Race Committee decided to start a fourth round robin, but racing was interrupted by the arrival of a thunderstorm accompanied by rain.
The battle for the title now appears to be between France and Poland 2, both with eight victories. French sailors Côme Zunquin, Clara Zunquin, Charles Ganivet and Pierre Braud are aiming to defend the title they won in 2025, while the Polish team of Helena Radziwon, Franciszek Sowa, Jan Waskiewicz and Filip Zbyryt is determined to take the crown. Behind the leading pair, Italy 1, representing Lega Navale Italiana del Sulcis, has made significant progress, moving up to provisional third place with five wins from twelve matches (42%). The team of Angelo Manconi, Fabio Serra, Elena Telisca and Cecilia Parise is ahead of Poland 1, also on five victories, while Italy 2, represented by Pietro Dedoni, Nicolò Maffei and Lorenzo Spagnolo from Lega Navale Cagliari, sits in fifth place with four wins.
Watching these races up close is a spectacle in itself. The voices of young sailors can be heard calling for right of way, while teammates constantly communicate to coordinate their manoeuvres, slow down an opponent or help a fellow team member gain a position. It is a fascinating game of strategy and tactics in which being the first boat across the finish line is not necessarily the goal. What really matters is securing the best combined result for the team. This is precisely what makes Team Racing so engaging: it transforms the single-handed OpenSkiff dinghy into a team sport, particularly popular among young sailors for its direct competition, constant cooperation and communication, right down to the very last centimetres before the finish line.
The World Championship, hosted by Società Canottieri Ichnusa and organised by Lega Navale Italiana del Sulcis, with the recognition of the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV) and the support of the Sardinia Region's Department of Tourism, will conclude on Sunday, 1 November, with the first matches scheduled for 11:00 AM. The final day will determine the OpenSkiff Team Racing World Champions before the spotlight shifts, from 6 to 8 November, to the second event of the Sardinia Team Race World Championship: the RS Aero Under 25 European Team Racing Championship, featuring 12 teams competing aboard single-handed RS Aero dinghies.
Full results and more information