Following the publication from World Sailing this week of the Notice of Race for the 2025 Team Racing World Championship, which announced that the OA will select which teams to invite (max 2 teams per country), primarily on the basis of the ranking of a team's two skippers in the World Sailing Team Racing Rankings, the planned RYA Selection Event on the 2-3 November 2024 will not be going ahead.
Instead the skippers of any GBR team wishing to receive an invite should register this request to the OA before 15 November 2024 (see NoR 4.2).
A thorough review of the NoR by the RYA Racing Department, Legal Team and Racing Committee confirmed that winning any such Selection event would be no guarantee of an invitation from the OA, or prioritising their entry over another British team with a higher ranking. The RYA also wished to avoid teams incurring the cost of a selection event (£900 per team) when entry to the Worlds will cost $5000, before flights and accommodation.
The RYA appreciates this may cause some frustration for teams, and welcomes feedback we can review and pass on to World Sailing for future events. Please send to Richard.moxey@rya.org.uk.
Teams interested in the championship are recommended to read the NoR and take any opportunity to advance their Skippers' Team Racing Open Ranking. The weekend of the cancelled selection event sees a 2k Team Racing event in Berlin which may prove useful training.
Richard Moxey
RYA Keelboat Development Manager