World Sailing has officially released the Notice of Race for the 2027 World Sailing Championships, confirming Gdynia, Poland, as the host city for a major block of Olympic class racing in July 2027. The document gives athletes, coaches, and Member National Authorities all the essential details on rules, regulations, entry requirements, qualification pathways, event format, scoring, and field of play.
Widely regarded as the pinnacle of international sailing outside the Olympic Games, the 2027 World Sailing Championships are expected to draw an estimated 1,300 of the world’s elite sailors across multiple venues as part of a new split-format global championship structure.
Gdynia will host the high-speed and technical showdowns for the Men’s and Women’s Skiff (49er/49erFX), Mixed Dinghy (470), and Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17). The remaining events — Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing (iQFOiL), Men’s and Women’s Kite (Formula Kite), and Men’s and Women’s Dinghy (ILCA 6 and ILCA 7) — will take place in Fortaleza, Brazil, in January.
With the championship falling just one year before the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, world titles will be fiercely contested. Crucially, the highest number of coveted Olympic quota places will be awarded on the waters of the Baltic Sea, raising the stakes for every competitor.
Gdynia will also stage Para Inclusive Sailing events where world championship titles will be awarded across several classes. The One-Person Keelboat World Champion will be crowned in the Hansa 303, while Two-Person Keelboat World Champions will race in the RS Venture Connect. Vision Impaired Fleet Racing World Champions, incorporating B1, B2, and B3 categories with sighted crew, will compete in the RS21, and a Multihull World Champion will be decided in the Challenger class. The Two-Person Keelboat (Hansa 303) World Championship title will be awarded to the Inclusive fleet only.
Following the successful unification of Para Inclusive Sailing alongside Olympic class events for the first time at the World Sailing Championships at The Hague in 2023, Gdynia represents another landmark opportunity. Para Inclusive sailors will compete for world titles, earn ranking points, and demonstrate the universality of sailing at all levels on the same field of play as Olympic hopefuls.
Ferran Muniesa, World Sailing Director of Events, said, “We are delighted to integrate Para Inclusive Sailing into the World Sailing Championships once again, and this time the events will be staged in the same venue as the Olympic Class events. Sailing is a sport for everyone and Gdynia’s ability to accommodate both is a testament to the venue and facilities, and the commitment of the organisers to deliver an inclusive and accessible world championship for the entire sport.”
He added, “The first edition of a split venue World Sailing Championships offers the ideal environment for each slate of events to give athletes the opportunity to compete for world titles and Olympic qualification in optimal conditions. Both test events were very successful, and we now look ahead to two exciting editions of the 2027 World Sailing Championships beginning early next year.”
Laying the groundwork for the main event, the World Sailing Championship test event in July 2026 successfully showcased Gdynia’s exceptional wind conditions and provided a platform to integrate a variety of technology partners.
All athlete registration and entry forms must be processed and submitted directly through each country’s respective Member National Authority via their appointed Team Leaders. To download or view the Notice of Race, along with entry procedures and the qualification system, sailors and officials are directed to the World Sailing website.
World Sailing is the world governing body for the sport of sailing, officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. Founded in 1907, the organisation is made up of 149 Member National Authorities and over 100 World Sailing Class Associations, all working toward a vision where millions more people fall in love with sailing.
