Nova Scotia to host 2022 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 World Sailing Championships

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Nova Scotia to host 2022 World Championships

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Canada host 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 for the first time

HALIFAX, N.S., April 8, 2021 – Nova Scotia will host a 400-strong field of the world’s best sailors from over 35 countries when the World Championships for three Olympic classes, the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17, kick off in September 2022. Taking place in Canada for the first time in its history, the competition will be held on St. Margaret’s Bay during the six-day event.

Sail Nova Scotia won the rights to host the 2022 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Championships, which will run September 6-11, 2022, in partnership with Hubbards Sailing Club, St. Margaret Sailing Club and Sail Canada.

Building on Nova Scotia’s long-held affinity and connection to the sea, the province is gaining a reputation in the sailing world as an accomplished host of national and international sailing events. The event will be held on the waters of St. Margaret’s Bay, which has played host to numerous national and international sailing events over the years. These waters make an excellent venue for the championship. The venue has clean water and moderate to strong consistent winds in a spectacularly beautiful setting.

More information about the championships is available on the class website at https://49er.org/event/2022-world-championship.

Quotes

Eric Hill, President of Sail Nova Scotia

"Nova Scotia has a long history of high-performance racing and training. St. Margaret's Bay is one of the best sailing venues in Canada and is known for having great winds and ideal sailing conditions. This event will bring awareness across Nova Scotia to skiff and Nacra sailing and also leave a wonderful legacy of improved infrastructure for sailors."

Iain Rankin, Premier of Nova Scotia

“We appreciate the confidence the 49er Class Association has shown in selecting our province to host and we know our sailing community will deliver an event that far exceeds the hosting requirements,” said Premier Iain Rankin. “Events deliver important economic and social contributions to communities, and that’s why we’re pleased to invest $250,000 towards the hosting of this major event.”

Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax

“Nova Scotians know sailing, and together with our famed Atlantic Canadian hospitality, we’re the perfect hosts to welcome the world to our storied shores in September 2022 for the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Sailing Championships. We look forward to making sure it’s an experience that the sailors, their families, and observers will remember forever.”

Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax

“We’re excited to welcome the world’s best sailors and the 49er Class Association to our great city for this world-class event. Our city, volunteers and our hospitality industry will be thrilled to host the athletes, coaches and officials from around the world and help make their experience in Halifax one to remember.”

Hugh McGugan, Sail Canada’s Chair of the Board of Directors

“Canada is very excited to host for the very first time the 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 World Championships in September 2022. This will be the first World Sailing Olympic class World Championships event to be held in Canada since 2015. Thank you to all the partners who are making this possible, including the Government of Canada and Government of Nova Scotia, as well as Sail Nova Scotia, Hubbards Sailing Club and St. Margaret Sailing Club. Following the rich tradition of Canadian Sailing Olympians coming from Nova Scotia, I'm sure sailing fans from Nova Scotia and across the country will be excited to welcome the best sailors in the world while supporting our Canadian athletes, including those who are aiming to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.”

Jyrki Jarvi, President of the 49er Class

“We are thrilled to be coming to Nova Scotia for our 2022 Worlds. It is a place that has sailing in its history and its future, and we can’t wait to be a part of that.”

Nathan Outteridge, President of the Nacra 17 Class

“The sailing on St. Margaret’s Bay is perfect for Olympic style racing, it will be a great test for our fleets.”

John Flemming, Co-Chair of the Local Host Organizing Committee

“We can’t wait to show these competitors the remarkable St. Margaret’s Bay. We know our sailing community will be ready to help create memorable experiences for all the participants and we look forward to making this event one of the best yet for participants.” For more information: Frank Denis Patrick Godbout Executive Director Communications Manager, Sail Canada Sail Nova Scotia (514) 213-9897 902-293-0035 patrick@sailing.ca office@sailnovascotia.ca

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India, China, South Africa, and Tunisia win Olympic Berths in Mussanah

Ganapathy Chengappa with Varun Thakkar (IND) have won the Mussanah Open Championship, and with it a berth in the Tokyo Olympic games by the narrowest of margins. Just two points separated them from the chasing Akira Sakai with Russel Alysworth (HKG) who did all they could by winning the final four races of the regatta including the medal race.

For India, who haven't been to the Olympics in 49er since 2004 this represents a breakthrough moment for what has been a big effort in skiff sailing in the nation. Both the Army and Navy squads have been working hard at 49er for more than eight yeas, and to win such a close regatta will feel sweet for them.

In total, 7 different teams won races in the 49er from India, Hong Kong, Oman, China, South Africa, Korea, and China. Additionally, the Whitcraft brothers from Thailand finished fifth with a strong scoreline. It was a very competitive event and after sixteen races in a variety of conditions a great contest to see who would wind the final Olympic berth.

Benji Daniel with Alex Burger (RSA) finished fifth and earn the African berth for Tokyo. They must now convince their national selectors they should get to go to Tokyo, and if they are not added to the South African team their place will fall to the American's based on being the next best team from the Auckland 2019 Worlds.

In the 49erFX it was a well earned victory for Chen Shasha and Ye Jin (CHN) who won six races and finished second in another six races to secure a seven point victory over Molly Highfield and Sandy Choi (HKG). The Chinese squad has come on strong in the past couple of years, mostly training in a growing domestic circuit and clearly the level they are sailing at is coming on well.

For Hong Kong there must be disappointment after coming in second in both fleets. The Hong Kong teams have been pushing hard in recent years so missing out on Tokyo after coming so close will be a disappointing end to this Tokyo run.

Tunisia earns the final 49erFX berth despite finishing only six of the sixteen races.

The 49er Class would like to extend our thanks to the Oman Sail team who did a wonderful job in organizing the regatta on short notice and to a very high standard. The sailors have worked so hard to try and get to Tokyo, and deserved a fair shot at winning the Olympic berth on the water, which they got this week thanks to the hard work of our hosts.

Results

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Path to LA 2028 Clear for Sailor in the America’s

For Youth and Junior Sailors with serious sailing aspirations in the America’s, there has never been such a clear pathway to the top! The effort for a medal in LA 2028 starts now, as champions are built over time well spent.

For the first time ever there will be a series of pinnacle championships on American shores.

The 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 Classes have recently announced the 2022 World Championship in Halifax Nova Scotia, and the 2025 World Championship in Long Beach, California. Additionally, the Pan Am Games organization recently announced the inclusion of these three Classes into the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games and 2027 inclusion seems likely as well. In the summers of 2026 and 2027 there will be ‘Test Events’ in Long Beach (formerly known as Pre-Olympics). There has never been so much pinnacle Olympic class racing confirmed for such a long window in the America’s before.

Additionally, US Sailing in conjunction with Sail Canada is developing a series of US Open regattas. Separated into three zones, there will be a total of nine annual regattas, 3 in Florida in Dec/Jan, 3 in California June/July, and 3 in the North-East in August and September. These events will include clinics and the US Sailing development squad has invited teams from other nations to attend and be full members of the clinics in development.

Now is the time for Youth Sailors, College sailors, sailors from the Caribbean and Latin America to begin sailing fast boats knowing that there is a viable plan for your near term and long-term development in the Americas.

2021 – Domestic USA circuit – all welcome
2022 – Worlds in Halifax2023 – Pan Am Games in Chile
2025 – Worlds in Long Beach
2026 – Test Event in Long Beach
2027 – Test Event in Long Beach
2028 – LA 2028

If sailors are looking to get second hand equipment, reach out to trevor@49er.ca for info. For teams looking to get linked up with you national or regional training groups, reach out to Ben Remocker, the class manager for 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17.

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