World Sailing is inviting responses from the global sailing community as part of its review of Olympic events for the post-LA28 Games programme.
World Sailing, who control the structure of Olympic sailing, has struggled in recent years to find a selection of sailing craft that combines what sailors want to sail at the peak of their sailing career and what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) considers meets its commercial requirements.
The IOC have always moved to embrace new sport variants and the latest commercial media requirements, and as the ‘traditional’ television monopoly has waned, turned from fighting social media coverage to embracing it in every form.
And not just as a delivery method but in requiring sports to adjust their rules to ensure their presentation has a better appeal to a short-term attention span, with simplistic outcomes favoured. (Olympic Sailing – Crisis? What Crisis?)
Sailing has identified four areas that are critical to Olympic sailing and will maximise the value that the sport adds to the Olympic Programme: marketability, accessibility, sustainability and diversity. (World Sailing publishes Olympic Vision to steer the sport through to Brisbane 2032)
As part of its programme to remain relevant in the rapidly changing Olympics, World Sailing Regulation 11* mandates that at least four Olympic events are placed under review every four years.
At the 2025 World Sailing Annual Conference, the General Assembly voted to place the Men’s Kite, Women’s Kite, Mixed Dinghy (470 dinghy) and Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17) under review as required by its regulations.
Following review, the 2026 General Assembly will decide for each event to either:
- retain the event and equipment
- retain the event but evolve the equipment
- retain the event but adopt entirely new equipment
- replace with a new event (equipment to be determined).
Proposals to inform and support the working group can be submitted by:
- Member National Authorities
- World Sailing Class Associations
- Continental Associations
- Associate Members
- Committees, Sub-committees or Commissions
- World Sailing Race Officials.
The submission deadline for proposals on Reg 11 review of Olympic Events is 31 March 2026.
* See Regulation 11 here . . .
Related Post . . .
Olympic Sailing – Crisis? What Crisis?
World Sailing publishes Olympic Vision to steer the sport through to Brisbane 2032
