Kiel Week - International and more mixed
by Kiel Week 28 Feb 2019 00:38 NZDT
20-30 June 2019
Last year, the 470 women and 470 men competed separately for Kiel. This year, the Kiel Week also invites mixed crews for the two-hand dinghy © S. Klahn / Kiel Week
The Kiel Week will continue to be international. For the first time, the Marselisborg Yacht Club/Sailing Århus has joined the organization team of the Kiel Week (22. - 30. June).
"The combination of the World Championships of the Olympic classes in Århus was a great success, and we have seen great race committees. Therefore we thought about working more closely together with the Danish", said Dirk Ramhorst, Head of Organization of the Kiel Week regattas.
Next to the 'Kiel Yacht Club', the 'Norddeutscher Regatta-Verein' and the 'Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee', it is the first international club joining the organization team at the Kiel Week. And this is supposed to be just the beginning of more internationality in the race committee. This year, regatta teams will already be exchanged between Århus and Kiel. The objective is to improve the quality on the water even more, described Ramhorst.
It is the mainstay for an internationally stronger orientation, said Ramhorst. Even if the flagpoles for the national flags were already barely sufficient in 2018, Kiel is counting on increasing internationality. Thus it was agreed with World Sailing to invite sailors from the so-called "Emerging Nations" (ambitious emerging countries) to the Kiel Week. World Sailing is taking over flight costs, Kiel is organising charter boats, registration fees and accommodation.
And they will be working more closely with the European association EUROSAF in the area of jury and race committee. "We will continue to strengthen the exchange program this year and invite jury members as well as race directors to the Young Europeans Sailing and to the Kiel Week", stated Ramhorst.
The increased level of internationality is no end in itself, the aim is to improve the services of the organisers on the water and offer high-class formats for active sailors from all over the world. With the Olympic classes, the 2.4mR, the OK European Championship as well as the offshore regattas also 15 international classes are part of the Kiel Week, which is presenting the whole spectrum of the sailing sport from 22. until 30. June.
And while the National German Team is performing its "freestyle" program in Kiel-Schilksee and in the years 2019 and 2020 is looking at the starting spots for the nations in Enoshima, the Kiel Week is looking even more into the future than at the Olympics in Japan. In France 2024, new sailing disciplines will be at the start line. One of them is Mixed Doublehand Offshore.
"In the discussion about the Sailing World Cup, World Sailing always was criticizing our mixture of Olympic, international and offshore events, but especially the last ones now prove to be also perfect for World Sailing. Because we are the only 'classical' event, which can now react immediately on the doublehand offshore format", said Dirk Ramhorst.
The new Olympic discipline from 2024 "Mixed Doublehand Offshore" is in the Kiel Week program from Wednesday until Sunday. Short, medium or long distance tracks are according to the Olympic program, but not only for mixed crews. They will be sailing on yachts with ORC Club measurement. Also the married couple Roland and Nahid Gaebler are among the starting crews.
Kiel is also offering the mixed version for the double hand dinghy 470, because the double hand dinghy sailing in the mixed version shall become Olympic in 2024. The 470 class was negotiated at high levels.
"In consultation with the class association we have decided to offer Mixed already this year", said Ramhorst. The mixed version was already added to the regatta program by the time of the trade fair boot Duesseldorf. And while the leading male and female teams in the 470 fleet are focussing on the Olympics in Enoshima (Japan), the first mixed crews are already forming up, especially among the young talents looking at the new Olympic discipline 2024 in Marseille.
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