Singlehanded equipment evaluation completed for Paris 2024

A decision by World Sailing at its Annual Conference in November 2017 sought to re-evaluate the equipment used in the Men and Women’ One Person Dinghy events for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The review was to determine if the Laser Standard Rig and Laser Radial Rig, which have been the equipment used for these events since 1996 and 2008 respectively, should continue to be the equipment used for Paris 2024.

World Sailing launched a tender process in May 2018 which invited Class Associations and Manufacturers to tender for the Men’s and Women’s One Person Dinghy.

Eight tenders were received and a Board of Directors’ appointed Working Party recommended that the Laser be included as a full option in the Sea Trials alongside the D-Zero, Melges 14, and RS Aero.

From March 11-15, 2019, these four boats were put through their paces at Sea Trials which included representatives of each manufacturer and class as well as an evaluation panel and 11 international sailors with Olympic and World Championship experience.

The mission for the Working Party was to write a report and make a recommendation on what equipment should be adopted for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and for the recommendation to be presented to the Equipment Committee at the 2019 Mid-Year Meeting in May.

As this Meeting is intended to sort out the equipment for several 2024 events, the Equipment Committee would review the recommendation and then make their own to World Sailing’s Council, the final decision making body of World Sailing, who will make a decision on the equipment that will be adopted.

The report has been completed, and the evaluation concluded that there are two suitable items of equipment for the event: the RS Aero equipment presented by RS Sailing and the Laser equipment presented by ILCA.

The Evaluation Panel developed a scoring matrix against which the equipment options were scored based on the evaluation criteria for the event. The overall scores are:

RS AERO – 80%
LASER – 69%
MELGES 14 – 54%
D-ZERO – 52%

To read the complete report, click here.