PUBLICATION OF THE "NOTICE OF RACE" OF SANTANDER 2014 ISAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The issue of the Notice of Race shows the first indications both technical and eligibility regarding the participants

1,010 Olympic boats will be in Santander in September

With 9 months for opening Santander 2014 ISAF World Championships the Technical Department of Santander 2014, in collaboration with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), has published the rules governing the world championships.

This document will be completed with the publication of the Sailing Instructions, which will be delivered to participants once they have formalized the processes for entry and registration.

1,010 BOATS DIVIDED IN 10 CATEGORIES AND 6 CLASSES

Santander will be a real swarm of Olympic boats. Ion Echave, Technical Director of Santander 2014, highlights some of the key points of the expected Notice of Race: "The maximum number of participants will be 1,010 boats, in a distribution that ranges from 150 entries in the Laser Standard  to 80 of the RS:X and 470 female, Finn, 49er FX or Nacra 17 categories”.
The Laser class will have a total of 270 registered, the RS:X with 200, Finn with 80, 200 for the 470 class, 180 registered for the 49er and 80 for mixed multihull Nacra.

THE BEST WILL BE IN SANTANDER 2014

The best crews will definitely be on the great event of the Olympic sailing worlds that will have Santander as main actor, but not everyone is able to participate and is also worth remember that in addition of giving out world titles in each category, the 50% of the Olympic  spots for Rio 2016 will be distributed based on the sports results in Santander 2014.

Sailing National Authorities will be the ones responsible for enrolling their representatives within the maximum number of places in the regatta, and the process will be developed in phases.

"The sports national authorities -MNAs- are the ones that must approve the participation of each competitor that they want to represent them", said Echave, "there are approximately 138 MNAs and the quota of each varies from a minimum of one space per country to a maximum of 26, divided into different classes based on the ISAF regulations (number of entries and ranking in other championships), although the process is more complex and doesn’t end here”.

Santander will be the prelude to many for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.

FORMATS AND QUICK RACES

The format of the regatta to dispute during Santander 2014 is the same for all participating classes, with a first series of races that will lead to a qualification and final races."The format of Santander 2014 will consist of an initial series with a minimum of 6 races and a qualification series from which there will be 10 ranked for each category for the “medal races " or final race”, says Pilar Lopez, Assistant to the Technical Department of Santander 2014.

Another strong point to be developed in the waters of Santander is the duration of the races: "We seek a formula that appeals to both the viewer in the water or on land, for those who follow it through devices or the sailors themselves", says the Technical Director Ion Echave, "A priori, the initial series will have a duration ranging between 20-25 minutes for the RS:X categories, 30 minutes or so for the 49er and 49er FX or Nacra 17, to 50 minutes for the Laser, Finn or 470".

The Medal Races, which normally can be followed from the ground, will have a duration approximately of 20 minutes, so it is a very dynamic and action-packed race where the slightest mistake cannot be allowed.