FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2015
Portsmouth, R.I. – US Sailing’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) has released amended selection procedures for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team (Sailing) for events selected for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. In addition, the OSC has released Rio 2016 U.S. Paralympic Team (Sailing) selection procedures.
“Several of the classes did not schedule their major 2016 events until well after OSC’s initial Olympic Trials announcement,” said Ben Richardson, OSC Chairman. “As the OSC’s criteria is focused on using the most competitive international events for the selection system, this has necessitated a change for both the Radial and Finn classes. For the 470, there has been a date change for the European Championship, which is the second selection event for both the men’s and women’s classes.”
The Games of the XXXI Olympiad will take place from August 5-21, 2016, and the sailing events will be based at Marina da Gloria on Rio de Janeiro’s harbor front. The largest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games will feature approximately 10,500 athletes from over 200 countries competing in 306 medal events. The sailing events will feature up to 380 athletes competing in ten classes.
Link: Interview with Ben Richardson about the Rio 2016 selection procedures.
The Paralympic Sailing events will take place from September 7-18, 2016, and will also utilize Marina da Gloria. Adaptive athletes will compete in the one-person 2.4mR keelboat, the two-person SKUD-18 keelboat, and the three-person Sonar keelboat. Rio 2016 will be the fifth time sailing has been featured at the Paralympic Games.
“Just as we did for the Olympic Team selection procedures, the OSC has chosen events for each Paralympic class based on anticipated levels of competition,” said Richardson. “US adaptive sailors will test themselves against the best international teams, as well as fellow US Paralympic Team hopefuls, during the course of their two-event selection system.”
Athletes seeking to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team (Sailing) will have the opportunity to do so based on their combined performance at two major international events per class. Selection events for US athletes will include the following:
Laser, RS:X Men, and RS:X Women Classes:
- First Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Miami, Florida, January 25–30, 2016
- Laser, RS:X Men, RS:X Women Second Event: Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, March 26-April 2, 2016
Laser Radial Class:
- First Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Miami, Florida, January 25–30, 2016
- Second Event: Laser Radial Europeans, Las Palmas Grand Canaria, Spain, February 26 – March 5, 2016
Finn Class:
- First Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Miami, Florida, January 25–30, 2016
- Second Event: Finn Europeans, Barcelona, Spain, March 5-12, 2016
470 Men and 470 Women Classes:
- First Event: World Championships, San Isidro, Argentina, February 20-27, 2016
- Second Event: 470 Europeans, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, April 5-12
49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 Classes:
- First Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Miami, Florida, January 25–30, 2016
- Second Event: World Championships, Clearwater, Florida, February 7 –14, 2016
Quick Link: US Sailing’s Rio 2016 Olympic Team Selection Procedures (Amended)
Quick Link: Original US Olympic Team (Sailing) Selection Procedures Press Release (Dec. 16, 2014)
Athletes seeking to qualify for the U.S. Paralympic Team (Sailing) will have the opportunity to do so based on their combined performance at two major international events per class. Selection events for US athletes will include the following:
Paralympic 2.4mR Class:
- First Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami, Miami, Florida, January 25–30, 2016
- Second Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères, France, April 25- May 1, 2016
Paralympic SKUD-18 Class:
- ISAF Disabled World Championships, Melbourne, Australia, November 26-December 3, 2015
- Paralympic Sailing World Championships, Medemblik, Holland, May 24-28, 2016
Paralympic Sonar Class:
- ISAF Disabled World Championships, Melbourne, Australia, November 26-December 3, 2015
- Second Event: ISAF Sailing World Cup Hyères, France, April 25- May 1, 2016
Quick Link: US Sailing’s Rio 2016 Paralympic Team Selection Procedures
The ten Olympic and three Paralympic classes selected for Rio 2016:
- 2.4mR (Paralympic One-Person Keelboat)
- 470 Men (Men’s Two Person Dinghy)
- 470 Women (Women’s Two Person Dinghy)
- 49er (Men’s Two Person Dinghy High Performance)
- 49erFX (Women’s Two Person Dinghy High Performance)
- Finn (Heavyweight Dinghy)
- Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy)
- Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy)
- Nacra 17 (Mixed Two Person Multihull)
- RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer)
- RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer)
- SKUD-18 (Paralympic Two-Person Keelboat)
- Sonar (Paralympic Three-Person Keelboat)
US Sailing will send a maximum of one boat per event (pending country qualification) to the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games for a maximum team size of 21. Upon approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the qualifying athletes will be named to the 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams (Sailing) and will compete in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic regattas.
All selection procedures have been reviewed and approved by the USOC Team Selection Working Group. For additional details about the selection procedures for the 2016 Olympic Team – Sailing, please click here.
About US Sailing
The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
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Press Contact: Will Ricketson, Olympic Communications Manager, US Sailing. +1 (978) 697-2384, willricketson@ussailing.org