Santander win right to host 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships

Olympic mega-worlds to go to Spain

Santander, Spain has won the bid to host the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, ISAF has announced.

The ISAF Sailing World Championships combines the World Championships of all the events included Olympic sailing and the 2014 event is provisionally scheduled for September 2014.

Santander is a modern, well structured city, which has sailing as part of his heritage and culture. The 2014 Worlds will see competitors racing in the natural setting of the Bay of Santander. One race course will be within the Bay, two opposite El Sardinero’s beaches and one opposite El Puntal beach allowing spectators the opportunity to follow the regatta and athletes.

Excellent facilities for sailors, closeness to the city and excellent public access mean that the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships will be a great event for competitors and spectators.

Santander has experience of hosting major national and international sailing events. In the last ten years the city has hosted the 29er Worlds in 2003, Yngling Worlds in 2004 and J/80 Worlds in 2009. The Championships will be based at the premises of the Prince Felipe High Performance Sailing Centre (HPSC) and Royal Yacht Club of Santander in Puertochico. The HPSC is a fully equipped facility and the practice and technical training venue of the Spanish Olympic Sailing Team. Its facilities include two warehouses and a 14 metre ramp.

In January an Evaluation Commission appointed by ISAF received presentations by the following cities in their bid to host the event:

Kingston, Canada
Qingdao, China
Aarhus, Denmark
Busan, Korea
The Hague, The Netherlands
Gdynia, Poland
Santander, Spain

The Commission made their recommendations to the ISAF Executive Committee who made the final decision.

Jerome Pels, ISAF Secretary General said, “All of the bids that we received were of extremely high quality and demonstrated that there is a big desire and commitment to hosting top level sailing events. The decision ISAF had to make was very difficult. We are confident that Santander will host a superb event for sailors and spectators as well as providing excellent coverage to a worldwide audience through the internet and television.”

Gerardo Pombo, President of the Spanish Sailing Federation said, “We are very happy because it was a very difficult contest. All the candidates were strong. We sincerely believe that the 2014 ISAF Worlds will be a great success, with the contribution of all the institutions, the businesses and the individuals who are involved in the project.”

The 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship will be the fourth edition of the event, following Cadiz in 2003, Cascais in 2007 with Perth due to host the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships this December.