Major Championships for Netherlands

The Hague, Netherlands will become a city of sails when it hosts the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships and the 2022 Sailing World Championships.

The Sailing World Championships, held every four-years and the primary Olympic qualification event, and the Youth Worlds, held every year since 1971, will allow The Hague to activate two of World Sailing’s flagship events back-to-back.

Dorian van Rijsselberghe, Olympic gold medallist in windsurfing at London 2012 and Rio 2016, will become the Tournament Director for both events. Internationally renowned and highly respected by his fellow competitors, van Rijsselberghe will work closely with all parties to ensure the athletes’ are at the heart of the event.

The Youth Worlds will be held in July 2021 and one year later in August 2022, The Hague will be the focus for Olympic class racing at the Sailing World Championships. More than 1,000 sailors, racing in over 900 boats from 80 nations will descend upon the city, aiming to book their spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 525,000. The authentic yet modern seaport, and the natural environment of The Hague Beach, will offer the perfect base for the 2021 Youth Worlds and the 2022 Sailing World Championships.

Competition will be held on the North Sea and will provide a stern test for the athletes. Conditions vary within a short period of time ensuring competitors will encounter a true test on the water with varied wind conditions and challenging tidal patterns.

“The Hague has an ambitious vision for the Sailing World Championships with the sailors, spectator experience and world-class organisation at the heart of their plans,” notes Kim Andersen, President of World Sailing.

“Their bids for both the Youth Worlds and 2022 Sailing World Championships were outstanding. Add this to an experienced organizing committee and established partners, who are all committed to raising the bar on previous Sailing World Championships, then the framework for success is there.”

About the Sailing World Championships
The Sailing World Championships is the principal qualification event for the Olympic Sailing Competition. Only the events and equipment included in the next Olympic Sailing Competition are included in the programme of the Championships.

Cadiz, Spain hosted the inaugural World Championships in 2003 before Cascais, Portugal built on its success to welcome 1,350 sailors and 900 boats from 76 nations in 2007.

Perth, Australia hosted the third Worlds in December 2011. 1,200 sailors from 79 nations took part, racing for world championship glory and Olympic qualification.

The event moved back to Spain in 2014 and to the city of Santander where more than 1,100 sailors in 700 boats raced over a two week period. The event saw 50% of Rio 2016 Olympic Games places snapped up.

The Hempel Sailing World Championships, held at the Aarhus International Sailing Centre at the edge of the Bay of Aarhus from 31 July to 12 August 2018 was the most recent event and saw 40% of Tokyo 2020 Olympic places awarded.

About the Youth Sailing World Championships
The Youth Sailing World Championships was first held in Angelholm, Sweden in 1971 where 16 nations competed for the inaugural titles in the two-person dinghies, 420 and Flipper.

As the regatta evolved further classes were added to bring the best young sailing talent across the world together in one place and in 1984 the Mistral windsurfer was added to the list of events with Knut Budig (GER) taking the first gold medal in San Diego, California.

Open to sailors aged 19 and under the 49th version of the Youth Worlds heads to the Gdynia, Poland from 13-20 July 2019 as the stars of the future are born once again.

Past notable winners include American’s Cup skippers, Chris Dickson (NZL), Russell Coutts (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL); Olympic medallists, Ben Ainslie (GBR), Robert Scheidt (BRA), Alessandra Sensini (ITA), Iain Percy (GBR) and Elise Rechichi (AUS); Volvo Ocean Race sailors like Stuart Bannatyne (NZL) and Richard Clarke (CAN).

USA is the current holder of the Nations Trophy, awarded annually to the top performing nation at the Youth Worlds. The Nations Trophy was first introduced in 1991 and in 1999 became the Volvo Trophy until 2010.

Source: World Sailing