Dear Sailors Around the World,

The World Sailing Format Working Group has recently come out with a report for a new Olympic medal race format that significantly affects the core values and integrity of our sport across all disciplines.

Find the report here: FORMAT WG EC REPORT

While we support innovation and progress, we also believe that an Olympic or World Champion should be determined through a format that reflects fairness, consistency, and true sailing skill.

Sign here if you support the open letter below, addressed to World Sailing, calling for greater involvement of athletes and classes in shaping the medal race format — especially as we look ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Share it with your national federation, fellow sailors, teammates, coaches, and the wider sailing community to get as much support as possible.

Together, let's ensure that athlete voices are heard — and that the spirit of our sport is preserved.

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To: World Sailing Council, Board, and Members of the Events Committee 

Dear Members of World Sailing,

We, the undersigned athletes, coaches, and stakeholders, are writing to express our deep concern regarding the recent format proposals presented by the Format Working Group. 

As athletes, we fully share World Sailing’s ambition to make Olympic sailing more exciting, engaging, and accessible to a wider audience. However, we believe that any evolution of the competition format must uphold the fundamental principles that define our sport — credibility, meritocracy, and the fair recognition of sustained performance. 

The elimination-based medal format currently proposed risks undermining these principles. It places excessive emphasis on single-race outcomes and diminishes the importance of the Opening Series, where athletes demonstrate consistency and excellence across a range of conditions. Such an approach does not reflect the skill, preparation, and performance required to succeed at the Olympic level. 

Equally concerning is the process by which this format has been developed. Many Olympic classes, in close consultation with their athletes, have already undertaken significant and detailed testing of alternative formats designed to be both credible and broadcast-friendly. It is unclear how these collective efforts have been integrated into the current proposal, and this has led to a growing sense that athlete and class input is not being fully heard or valued. 

For our sport to remain credible, sustainable, and inspiring to future generations, it is essential that the voices of athletes and classes are placed at the centre of decision-making. We believe that this process must be reviewed — and, if necessary, restarted — in a way that reflects true collaboration, transparency, and evidence-based evaluation of all tested and proposed formats. 

Olympic sailing’s strength has always been its integrity — rewarding consistency, skill, and decision-making across a series of races. Preserving that foundation is vital, not only for the athletes competing today but also for the long-term credibility and future of our sport. 

Respectfully, 

The undersigned members of the sailing community