Sailing Grand Slam moves to France

The second stage of the 2026 Sailing Grand Slam for all ten Olympic events is April 18-25 at Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, France. The 57th edition anticipates more than 600 sailors from 50+ nations with the USA’s Nevin Snow and Ian Macdiarmid looking to defend their 49er title after finishing second at the first stage in Spain. The Sailing Grand Slam provides an international circuit to prepare athletes for the Olympic Games.

The French Olympic Week regatta will feature a new competition format this year, similar to what was presented at the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, including the Qualifying and Final Series.

In the Qualifying Series, athletes will first compete in preliminary races and aim to avoid the cut in order to qualify for the Gold Fleet in the elimination races—the only way to end up on the podium. The others will compete in the silver or bronze fleets depending on their ranking.

Except in the iQFOiL and Formula Kite classes, which use a knock-out system, athletes will then begin the Elimination Series with a point total corresponding to their ranking following the preliminary races. The top 10 athletes following the Qualification Series, which will include both the preliminary and elimination races, will qualify for the Final Series day, which will feature two races, as part of what was previously called the Medal Race.

Also, if among the 10 boats that qualify for the Final Series, the point differential between any two boats exceeds nine points, the points will be adjusted so that the differential will not exceed nine points; similarly, the points between third and tenth place will be adjusted so that the differential will not exceed 18 points. This provides all 10 boats the opportunity to get on the podium

The final ranking will be determined by the total net points accumulated during the Qualification Series, to which the points from the two final series will be added. – Details

2026 Sailing Grand Slam
March 27-April 4: Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca – Mallorca, Spain
April 18-25: Semaine Olympique Française – Hyères, France
May 30-June 7: Dutch Water Week – Almere, Netherlands
June 20-28: Kieler Woche – Kiel, Germany
Jule 13-August 8: Pre-Olympic Event – Los Angeles and Long Beach, USA*

* Location and dates:
July 13-16, ​iQFOiL, Formula Kite – ​Long Beach
July 20-25, ​ILCA 6, ILCA 7, 470​​ – Los Angeles
August 3-8, ​49er, 4erFX, Nacra 17 – Los Angeles

Details: https://sailinggrandslam.com/

Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Sailing Program (July 16-28):
First Week – July 16-20
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA

Second Week – July 23-28
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7 – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6 – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470 – Los Angeles, CA
Men’s Skiff – 49er – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 – Los Angeles, CA

For more details, click here.