Rio 2016 equipment decided

Keelboats definitely out while the women's skiff and multihull are in

ISAF confirms events for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition at 2011 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting in St Petersburg, Russia.

ISAF President Göran Petersson led the ISAF Council in more than three hours of debate and discussion before the ten events were decided. Over 50 Submissions were received for consideration following the changes to the process for selecting events and equipment that was agreed in November 2010.

The ten events selected by the ISAF Council for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition are:

Men’s Board or Kiteboard - evaluation
Women’s Board or Kiteboard - evaluation
Men’s One Person Dinghy - Laser
Women’s One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Men’s 2nd One Person Dinghy - Finn
Men’s Skiff - 49er
Women’s Skiff – Evaluation
Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Mixed Two Person Multihull - Evaluation

Evaluation trials will be held between now and November 2012 to determine which boats will be used for the women’s skiff and multihull events, and also to decide whether to replace the men’s and women’s windsurfing events with kitesurfing.

The Vote

In November 2010, a provisional list of Events and Equipment (“the slate”) was agreed by the ISAF Council. Since then, ISAF received over 50 Urgent Submissions which proposed alternative slates. A two-stage voting process, similar to that used by the IOC when choosing a host city for the Olympic Games, was used to decide the final list.

After the first stage, seven Submissions went through to the second stage of voting. There was a palpable sense of tension in the meeting room as the Council awaited the results of the second stage.

At the 2010 ISAF Annual Conference, Council agreed that the process for selecting the Olympic Events and Equipment should be changed and approved new Regulation 23.

The report from the Olympic Commission recommended the change as a way to better serve the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) and sailors and to provide greater continuity for the sport between Olympic Games’ and create a system for Equipment evolution.

Other decisions made in St Petersburg include:
- Decisions on the core events for 2020 were deferred until the 2011 Annual Conference in November.
- 29er XX granted Recognized Class Status
- 2014 Youth Olympic Games Events confirmed as: Boy’s Windsurfer, Girl’s Windsurfer, Boy’s One Person Dinghy and Girl’s One Person Dinghy.
- Olympic Class World Championships set to continue
- A single ranking system for the Olympic events to be operational from 2013 onwards.

With regard to the equipment selection the RYA welcomed the decision.

“The RYA is supportive of the slate of events agreed today by ISAF Council, which shows progression within the sport and a clear pathway now, particularly for girls transitioning from the youth classes into Olympic campaigning,” said John Derbyshire, the RYA’s Racing Manager and Performance Director.

“It’s disappointing in some ways to be losing an old friend with the removal of the Star class, which has been a fixture in Olympic sailing since 1932, and that Women’s Match Racing hasn’t proved as successful as it was hoped it might.

“The mood of the meeting clearly showed, though, that the retention of the keelboat events is not the right thing for the future growth and appeal of the sport in Olympic terms right now, and that the events chosen reflect more the mass participation of young sailors within sailing, and the RYA supports those views.”