Qualifying set to take place next week at the Princess Sofia Regatta, April 3-8, in Mallorca, Spain
Kingston, March 29, 2023 – A total of 30 Canadian sailors will compete at the 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta, April 3-8 in Mallorca, Spain, a competition where a lot will be at stake as it will serve as a Canadian qualifier for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games and the 2023 Sailing World Championships – which in turn will both serve as quota spot qualifiers for Paris 2024 -, as well as for the 2024 Olympic Games Test Event.
Close to 1,000 sailors from around the world, including the best in each of the classes, will gather in Mallorca for this event that will feature the 10 Olympic classes: 470, 49er, 49erFX, Kiteboarding (men and women), ILCA 6, ILCA 7, iQFoil (men and women) and Nacra 17.
For the Canadian sailors, this competition will be key heading towards the 2024 Olympic Games, as it will be a qualifier for the 2023 Sailing World Championships, the 2023 Pan American Games and the Paris 2024 Test Event. The first two events will also serve as a country spot qualifier for Paris 2024.
The full list of Canadian sailors who are taking part in the 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta, including Tokyo 2020 Olympians Sarah Douglas, Will Jones, Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen, is available below.
2023 Sailing World Championships
The 2023 Sailing World Championships, to be held August 11-20 in The Hague, Netherlands, will be the first opportunity for countries to qualify spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The competition, held every four years by the international federation, World Sailing, will include the 10 Olympic classes.
At the 2023 Sailing World Championships, each country will have at least one entry in each event, or more depending on results earned at the 2022 World Championships for each class. For the 2023 Sailing World Championships, Canada will have the following maximum of entries for each class:
-ILCA 7: 4
-ILCA 6: 4
-49er: 3
-49erFX: 2
-Kiteboarding (women): 2
-Kiteboarding (men): 2
-iQFoil (women): 1
-Nacra 17: 1
As per Sail Canada’s Selection Process, available at www.sailing.ca/international-events, the top athletes/teams following the 2023 Sailing World Championships, until all entries will be filled, will qualify to be nominated to the Sail Canada 2023 Sailing World Championships Team.
2023 Pan American Games
The 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta will also important for Canadian sailors competing in the ILCA 6, ILCA 7, 49erFX and Nacra events ahead of the 2023 Pan American Games. Because there will be only one spot per country available for each class at the Games, the top athlete/team in these classes at the Princess Sofia Regatta will be the only one to qualify to be nominated to Sail Canada’s Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Team as per Sail Canada’s Selection Process, available at www.sailing.ca/international-events.
The Santiago 2023 Pan American Games will be the second opportunity for countries to qualify spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The sailing competition will be held October 28 to November 5 at the Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico in Algarrobo, Chile.
At the present time, five Canadians have already qualified to be nominated to Sail Canada’s Santiago 2023 Pan American Games Team: Emily Bugeja (Vancouver) in women’s Kiteboarding, Mac Morrin (Kingston, ON) in men’s Kiteboarding, Will Jones (Jerseyville, ON) and Justin Barnes (Pickering, ON) in 49er, as well as Rebecca Heller (Dunrobin, ON) in women’s iQFoil.
Paris 2024 Test Event
As was the case for previous Olympic Games, a test event will be held for each of the 10 Olympic classes, one year prior to the start of Paris 2024, July 9-16, 2023, at the official venue in Marseille.
And as it will be the case at the Olympic Games, only one athlete per class per country will be allowed to compete at this test event. Canadian sailors will be able to qualify to be nominated to Sail Canada’s Paris 2024 Test Event Team by being the top Canadian team/athlete at the 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta as per Sail Canada’s Selection Process, available at www.sailing.ca/international-events.
The Test Event will be a great opportunity for all sailors around the world vying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to experience the conditions that they will encounter at the 2024 Olympic venue in addition to competing against the best in the world.
Canadian sailors at the 2023 Princess Sofia Regatta
49er (/100)
William Jones (Jerseyville, ON-RHYC) & Justin Barnes (Pickering, ON-RCYC)
Arie Moffat (Kingston, ON-KYC) & Samuel Bonin (Toronto, ON-RCYC)
Thomas & William Staples (Beaconsfield, QC) – RSLYC
49erFX (/60)
Antonia & Georgia Lewin-LaFrance (Chester, N.S.) – RNSYS/CYC
Ali ten Hove (Kingston, ON) & Mariah Millen (Toronto, ON) – Kingston YC/RCYC
Kiteboarding M (/115)
Mac Morrin (Kingston, ON-KYC)
Logan Sutherland (Toronto, ON)
Kiteboarding W (/53)
Emily Bugeja (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)
Martyna Dakowicz (Oakville, ON)
Nataliya Leshko (Toronto, ON)
Marie-Ève Mayrand (Calgary, AB)
ILCA 6 (/110)
Maura Dewey (Victoria, B.C.-RVicYC)
Sarah Douglas (Toronto, ON, ABYC)
Clara Gravely (Toronto, ON-ABYC)
Coralie Vittecoq (Montreal West, QC-PCYC/BLBC)
ILCA 7 (/185)
Ryan Anderson (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS)
Liam Bruce (Oakville, ON-Port Credit YC)
James Juhasz (Oakville, ON-BHYC)
Fillah Karim (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)
Luke Ruitenberg (St. Margaret’s Bay, N.S.-RNSYS)
Daniel Connors (Upper Tantallon, N.S.-RNSYS)
Ben Flower (Tobermory, ON-Tobermory YC)
Norman Struthers (Toronto, ON-RCYC)
Nacra 17 (/53)
Galen Richardson (Toronto, ON-RCYC) & Madeline Gillis (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS)
More information is available on Sail Canada website at www.sailing.ca.
About Sail Canada
Established in 1931, Sail Canada is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the country. Sail Canada is a leading international sailing nation, proud of its world class athletes, lifelong participants and inclusive culture. The organization and its members are committed to excellence by developing and training its leaders, athletes, sailors, instructors, coaches and officials. With the valued support from our partners, the Provincial Sailing Associations and our member clubs, schools, organizations and stakeholders, sailing is promoted in all its forms. By setting standards and delivering programs from home pond to podium for Canadians of all ages and abilities, from dinghies to keelboats, cruising to navigation, windsurfing to powerboating and accessible sailing, Sail Canada sets sail for all, sail to win and sail for life.
A sport in the Olympic program since the first Games in 1896, except in 1904, the pursuit of success in these Games is what fuels the focus of Sail Canada as Canadian athletes have so far achieved nine Olympic and five Paralympic medals.
