Sailing competitions can be held in any water body. There could be competitions between just two sailors or races between hundreds of boats. Being a very competitive sport, sailing aims to set the best speed records among sailors.
In sailing races, there are many events which are all significant, from races between small sailboats on small bodies of water to international competitions such as the America’s Cup. Let us have a look at the significant sailing events.
Sailing at the Olympics
Since the first Olympic sports were held in Athens in 1896, sailing has been part of the famous competition, even though it was cancelled at that time due to adverse weather conditions. In this international competition, the sailing race is open for men and women sailors who can compete together. The Olympic sailing competitions apply whether a fleet race format or a match race format or even a mix of the two formats. The last Olympic sailing event occurred in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Compared to the previous sailing competitions, there are most of the time some changes brought to improve the race. For the next Olympic sailing competition to be held in Paris in 2024, the changes will be about gender equity.
Sailing at America’s Cup
America’s Cup is a major sailing event involving a race between two sailing yachts. This competition is one of the oldest international sports events in history.
The first yacht is the defender, and its opponent is the challenger. The defender then represents the yacht club while the challenger represents the club which is challenging for the cup. There is an agreement made between the two to fix the competition timing. For the time being, the cup is retained by Emirates Team New Zealand, who won it in 2017. The 36th America’s Cup is going to be held in 2 years, in 2021, presented by Prada.