Good news for German sailing: five years after losing its World Cup status, Kiel Week is set to celebrate its comeback on the world stage of Olympic sailing in 2018. This was announced by the World Sailing Association to the organisers around Kieler Woche boss Dirk Ramhorst at its annual meeting in Barcelona.
In two years' time, the North Germans are to organise the World Cup final of the Olympic classes on the Kiel Fjord. "This is a success and a great opportunity for Kiel Week," said Dirk Ramhorst, who has been at the current General Assembly of the World Sailing Federation in Barcelona since yesterday. The people of Kiel were also rewarded for their successful performance this year, of which the Secretary General of the World Sailing Federation, Andy Hunt, gained a personal impression on site - and was very impressed: "In Kiel, sailing is combined with a festival in an exemplary way. This is the way forward. Many other major events can learn from this."
After Kiel Week lost its World Cup status in 2013, more and more prominent Olympic participants sailed past the German regatta. This trend should now be halted and reversed. This is also thanks to the partners of Kiel Week. First and foremost Audi and SAP, whose communication concept recently ensured that Kiel Week experienced an enormous revival at the Kiel-Schilksee Olympic Centre. Another piece of good news from Ingoldstadt comes just in time: Audi will remain on board Kiel Week for at least another year.
The fundamental decision in favour of the 2018 World Cup final in Kiel will now be followed by detailed negotiations. "The 2018 World Cup Final in Kiel will mark the halfway point on the road to the 2020 Olympic Games. It is therefore the highlight between the Games and we are looking forward to this challenge," says Dirk Ramhorst.
In 2017, after Miami (USA, 22 to 29 January 2017) and Hyères (France, 23 to 30 April 2017), the World Cup final of the World Cup series, which has been shortened to a total of three regattas, will take place in Santander from 4 to 11 June. The Spaniards had also submitted a strong bid and were great hosts of the 2014 World Sailing World Championships for all Olympic disciplines on the Bay of Santander with around 1,000 participants and 400,000 spectators.
A typical Kieler Woche clip from this year, which the city of Kiel included in its bid to host the World Cup final
"The 2017 World Cup final in Santander fits in with Kiel Week," says Ramhorst happily. There are two weeks between Santander and Kiel Week at the end of June 2017 - enough time for the Olympians to set course for Kiel and take a closer look at the World Cup final venue for 2018. World Sailing President Carlo Croce commented on the vote in favour of Santander and Kiel: "Both events have sailing at their heart and will create a great stage for our sport for the world's best sailors."
Germany's top sailors expressly welcome the decision in favour of Kiel. Laser Vice World Champion Philipp Buhl said: "This is very good news for German sailing and Kiel Week, but also for sailing as a whole, because there is currently no Olympic regatta stage in the world where our sport is better showcased than in Kiel. However, I would like to see two to three days of breathing space between the Kiel Week regatta for the Olympic classes and the World Cup final for the top 20 starters, otherwise there will be nine days of sailing in a row. In an often colder and more demanding area like Kiel, not all Olympic sailors would be able to do that."
Following the shortened 2017 World Cup series, the World Cup will always open in October in Japan (first in Gamagori, then in Enoshima) from the 2017/2018 season until the 2020 Olympic Games. World Sailing will decide on the final venues for the 2019 and 2020 World Cup finals at a later date.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
