Difficult time for Para World Sailing Champs

Published on September 17th, 2018

The 2018 Para World Sailing Championships will be held September 18 to 22 featuring more than 120 entrants from 30+ nations in Lake Michigan at Sheboygan, WI.

The three boats on show will be the 2.4m Norlin OD (one person keelboat) and the Hansa 303 (one person keelboat), with the RS Venture (two person keelboat) at the Championships for the first time.

The entry list includes Paralympic 2.4 metre champion Heiko Kroger from Germany, defending SKUD 18 champion Violeta Reino from Spain, and Rick Doerr from the US, who was partially paralysed by a spinal cord injury in 1992 before winning Paralympic silver in Rio.

The Worlds, which is held annually, will this year feature new formats including “heat style” racing for the RS Venture and medal races in all disciplines.

It comes at a difficult time for the sport, after sailing was not put forward for consideration for inclusion at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The sport lost its spot following Rio 2016.

Event details – Race information – Entry list