Jeddah to host 2024 Youth and Women's Match Racing Worlds

World Sailing has selected the Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to host the upcoming 2024 Youth Match Racing World Championship, from 29 November to 2 December, and the 2024 Women’s Match Racing World Championship beginning immediately afterwards from 5 to 8 December.

Located on the Red Sea coast, Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina has become a prominent venue in Saudi Arabia and recently hosted the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta, the only venue outside of Spain to host an America’s Cup regatta during the 37th America’s Cup cycle. 

World Sailing President, Quanhai Li, said, “We are very excited at the prospect of high-quality racing at a spectacular venue. This will be the first time World Sailing has organised an event in Saudi Arabia, one of the fastest growing sporting markets in the world and is the perfect opportunity to accelerate the development of sailing in the region.” 

David Graham, World Sailing Chief Executive Officer, added, “Selecting Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina to host the 2024 World Sailing Youth Match Racing Championship and Women’s Match Racing World Championship marks an important step in our mission to grow the sport globally. The Red Sea region is home to nine million people and there is huge untapped potential to develop event programs for the benefit of people across the Gulf, Africa and all across the sailing world.” 

Samia Bagdady, CEO of the Saudi Sailing Federation, commented, “As a sailor myself, this is a huge opportunity for sailors and teams from around the world to see the potential of Jeddah to become a thriving year-round hub for the sport. As we look to grow the sport and inspire Saudi men and women to rediscover our maritime heritage, bringing two major world championships to the Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina can have an incredible far-reaching impact on Saudi sport, and we are looking forward to welcoming all of the teams later this year.” 

World Sailing Technical Delegate, Anne Malledant, commented, “Sailing is a sport for everyone and the equal opportunities the sport provides have seen a rapid rise in the popularity of the Match Racing format, particularly in the women’s event. The Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina is an excellent venue for the Youth Match Racing World Championship and Women’s Match Racing World Championship and offers a chance for the teams to show a new audience how exciting and inclusive the sport of sailing truly is.” 

Both events will feature a maximum of 12 teams and use the FarEast 28 racing keelboat, a One Design model capable of reaching 20 knots. The FarEast 28 combines high performance with a lightweight frame, making it ideally suited to inshore racing for teams of up to five people.  

Competition takes place over five rounds: a round robin, a repechage, quarter finals, semi finals and the Grand Final, with a Petit Final to determine third and fourth place. 

The World Sailing Youth Match Racing World Championship is open to competitors who will be under the age of 23 on 31 December 2024. Crews consist of four or five members, and include at least one female and one male sailor, with a total weight limit of 350kg.  

The Women’s Match Racing World Championship is an annual event which was first held in Genoa, Italy in 1999 after a successful event was held as part of the 1998 World Sailing World Championship in Dubai, UAE. 

The 2023 Women’s Match Racing World Championship was held in Middelfart, Denmark, from 4-7 July 2023. Eleven teams from around the world raced in Blu26 class Keelboats. The title went to the ever-impressive Pauline Courtois and the Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team for the third consecutive year. 

The 2024 World Sailing Youth Match Racing World Championship and the Women’s Match Racing World Championship will be organised by the Saudi Sailing Federation in cooperation with Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina and the Ministry of Sport.