New format for 2018 Para World Sailing Championship

The 2018 Para World Sailing Championships will take place September 16-22 in Sheboygan, USA. This edition will showcase new formats including “Heat style” racing for the RS Venture Connect and medal races in all disciplines.

Disciplines and racing format:
• Single Person Keelboat (Technical) – Open Gender – 2.4mr Norlin One Design (OD) – fleet racing with a Medal Race
• Single Person Keelboat (Non-Technical) – Male – Hansa 303 – Short course fleet racing, shared charter boat with a Medal Race
• Single Person Keelboat (Non-Technical) – Female – Hansa 303 – Short course fleet racing, shared charter boat with a Medal Race
• Two Person Keelboat – Open Gender – RS Venture Connect – Short course fleet racing, shared charter boat with late stage knockouts. The winner of the final race will win the event

The all new RS Venture Connect two-person dinghy will be included in the Para Worlds for the first time ever. The two-seat standard configuration on the RS Venture Connect was recommended to the Para World Sailing Committee (PWSC) by RS Sailing and has been vetted for safety and classification for the 2018 World Championships. The RS Venture Connect was selected by the PWSC at the 2017 Annual Conference in Mexico for use at the Worlds.

The boat can be sailed by males and/or females and all competitors must have a valid International Classification under the current Para-Classification Rules for World Sailing. The total points of each team in the RS Venture Connect shall not exceed 8 points unless there is a female on the team. The total number of classification points can be increased by one for each female aboard.

To see the RS Venture Connect Equipment Regulations… click here.

As the PWSC continue to gather input and feedback on sailors regarding ongoing evolution and evaluation of equipment, safety factors and classification, competitors racing in Sheboygan will be invited to test the RS Venture Connect single center line seat configuration with a crew permitted to sit on the rail.

The one-person boat, Hansa 303, made its Para World Sailing Championship debut at the 2017 edition in Kiel, Germany. Piotr Cichocki (POL) and Violeta del Reino (ESP) took the inaugural men’s and women’s title. The sailors in the Hansa will need to meet the minimal disability criteria for Para World Sailing Classification and the men and women will compete in separate fleets again in 2018.

The RS Venture Connect and the Hansa 303 boats will be provided by World Sailing for the championships, reducing costs for sailors.

The third class to be included in the Para Worlds will be the one-person keelboat, Norlin 2.4mr OD. This is a technical and highly adaptable boat made to meet the needs of each sailor. Unlike the Hansa 303, males and females can compete together in the class. Sailors competing in this event will need to meet minimum disability classification requirements.

Event details: https://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=4621

Source: World Sailing