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Next month's Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta will present an opportunity to look to the future, as the next Olympic classes are included and there's more of an accent on youth sailing.
The three-day event, which is this country's premier Olympic and youth classes regatta, will be held at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club on March 27-29.
The notice of race has been published an entries are open until March 19 (a late fee might apply for entries received after this date).
The regatta is open to all boats of the Laser Standard, Laser Radial, 49er, 49Fx, Nacra 15, 420, 29er, windfoilers and kite classes.
Windfoiling, which will replace the RS:X on the programme for the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be included for the first time alongside kitefoiling, which will also debut in Paris. The windfoiling competition will be only two days to allow those taking part in the windfoiling national championships to compete.
The Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta is typically held over Waitangi weekend and the later dates mean some of New Zealand's top Olympic class sailors will be missing, given it's on at the same time as the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma. But it will put more of a focus on youth sailors who will be the Olympic sailors of the future.
"Next year we will embrace the new foiling classes that have been announced for the 2024 Olympics and we'll also have a youth focus," said event director Sam Mackay, who is also Yachting New Zealand youth coordinator. "It will also give us more flexibility to try some different race formats.
"We realise some of the country's top sailors won't be involved but that presents a great chance for up-and-coming sailors targetting future Olympics to perform. It's about looking to the next generation. It promises to be a terrific event with some quality racing and we expect it will attract some international competitors."
The Hyundai Marine Sport Centre at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club will provide an ideal venue for the regatta, especially considering the club did such a terrific job hosting last year's 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 world championships.
- Pic: Windfoiling has been included on the programme for the Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta for the first time. Photo: Yachting New Zealand.
