Youth Sailing Worlds returns to Oman

A total of 433 sailors from 56 nations will be coming for the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships on December 13-17 in Mussanah, Oman.

Eleven events will have Male and Female divisions in the 29er Skiff, 420 Two Person Dinghy, ILCA 6 One Person Dinghy along with the Mixed Two Person Multihull, the Nacra 15. New additions to the class line-up are Male and Female categories in Windsurfer Bic Techno 293+ and Kiteboarding Formula Kite.

This year is the 50th edition of this prestigious competition, which has been delayed when the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Light to moderate breezes and warm temperatures are expected.

“Every sailor here at the Youth Worlds should feel very proud to be here, representing their country,” notes Principal race officer Marina Psychogyiou. “Even if a sailor doesn’t finish as high up the results as they would like, they must still remember that they are here because they are the best sailor from their home nation.”

David Graham, CEO of World Sailing is pleased to see such a strong entry despite the challenging circumstances of travel to Oman. “At World Sailing, more than ever, we are placing a strong focus on promoting youth development, particularly among emerging nations,” said Graham. “Anyone who has earned their place at the Youth Worlds is a shining inspiration to other young sailors around the world. I wish them all the very best for the coming week of friendly competition.”

The 2019 event attracted 409 sailors from 66 nations for the nine events held in Gdynia, Poland.

First held in Sweden in 1971, the Youth Sailing World Championships are World Sailing’s flagship event for youth sailors. Following the success of their athletes at the 2019 edition, Spain is the current holder of the Nations Trophy, awarded annually to the top-performing nation at the Youth Worlds. Spain was followed by France in second and USA in third.

The event will be seeking to put a difficult recent history behind it in this return to Asia.

The 2015 event in Malaysia was a political mess which led to the Israel team pulling out, and then the 2016 event was moved to New Zealand after Oman withdrew from hosting the event, and while reasons were not given, it was likely not a funding problem. And then in 2017, Israel withdrew hosting the event, and while they claimed it was due to funding, odds are the reason was more complicated.

So now Oman gets another bite of the apple, and after the venue recently hosted World Champs for the 49er, 49erFX, Nacra 17, and ILCA 6, hopefully this event will be free of drama.

Details: https://worldsailingywc.org/