Olympic sailing classes

The eight Olympic classes scheduled in London 2012.

The Olympic sailing classes have been used in the sport of Sailing/Yachting during the Olympic Summer Games since 1896. Since then, 46 different classes have been used.

History

Over a period of more than 112 years, in a sport that uses complex technical equipment, classes will be discontinued for use at the Olympics. Reasons for discontinuation of a class varied from economical, logistical and technological to emotional and even political. Some of the discontinued classes remain very strong International - or National classes. Others filled a niche in a specific area like sailing schools or local club racing. Some faded away.

The "Former Olympic Sailing Classes", together with their crews form an important and significant part of the history of sailing in general and Olympic Sailing in particular. These tables give an overview of the classes and when they were used for Olympic sailing.

Current Olympic Classes

Category	Class	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Dinghy	470	•	•	•	M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F	Mix
	49er							P	P	P	P	M	M	M
	49er FX											F	F	F
	Laser Standard(ILCA7)						•	•	•	M	M	M	M	M
	Laser Radial (ILCA6)									F	F	F	F	F

Multihull	Nacra 17											Mix	Mix	Mix

Sailboard	IQFoil													M&F

Kiteboard	Formula Kite													M&F

Discontinued Olympic Classes

Pre-WWII games (1900–1936)

Category	Class	1900	1908	1912	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936
Ton classes	1⁄2 Ton	•
	1⁄2–1 Ton	•
	1–2 Ton	•
	2–3 Ton	•
	3–10 Ton	•
	10–20 Ton	•
	Open	•

Square Meter Skerry Cruiser classes	30m²				•
Square Meter Skerry Cruiser classes	40m²				•

Jauge chemin de fer classes	6.5 Metre				•
Jauge chemin de fer classes	8.5 Metre				•

Metre classes	6 Metre		•	•	•	•	•	•	•
	7 Metre		•		•
	8 Metre		•	•	•	•	•	•	•
	9 Metre				•
	10 Metre			•	•
	12 Metre		•	•	•
	15 Metre				•

Monotype classes	12 foot dinghy				•		•
	18 foot dinghy				•
	French National Monotype 1924					•
	Snowbird							•
	O-Jolle								•

Keelboat	Star							•	•

Post-WWII games (1948—2020)

Category	Class	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Dinghy	Firefly	M
	12m² Sharpie			•
	Flying Dutchman				•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
	Europe												F	F	F	F
	Finn		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	H	H	H	H	HM	HM	HM	HM

Keelboat	6 Metre	M	•
	Swallow	M
	5.5 Metre		•	•	•	•	•
	Dragon	M	•	•	•	•	•	•
	Elliott 6																	Fm
	Soling							•	•	•	•	•	C	C	C
	Star	M	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	M	M	M
	Tempest							•	•
	Yngling															F	F

Multihull	Tornado								•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•

Sailboard	Windglider										M
	Division II											M
	Lechner A–390												M+F
	Mistral One Design Class													M+F	M+F	M+F
	RS:X																M&F	M&F	M&F	M&F

Legend

( • ) Open Class event (Male and Female)
( M ) Male event
( F ) Female event
( Fm ) Female Matchrace event
( Of ) Open with a minimum of one female
( C ) Combined open event (Fleetrace and Matchrace)
( Mix ) Mixed (e.g. One Male & One Female Crew)
( H ) Heavyweight Dinghy event
( P ) High Performance Dinghy event
( VIP ) Vintage Inter Pares event (sailoff between the winners of each Vintage Yachting event)

References

External links

v t e Olympic sailing classes
Current classes	470 49er 49erFX Finn Formula Kite IQFoil Laser Laser Radial Nacra 17
Former classes (In order of first use)	Ton classes (0–½, ½–1, 1–2, 2–3, 3–10, 10–20, 20⁺ & Open) 6 Metre 7 Metre 8 Metre 12 Metre 10 Metre 12 foot dinghy 18 foot dinghy 6.5 Metre 8.5 Metre 9 Metre 15 Metre Skerry cruiser 30 m² Skerry cruiser 40 m² French National Monotype 1924 Snowbird Star O-Jolle Firefly Swallow Dragon 5.5 Metre 12 m² Sharpie Flying Dutchman Tempest Soling Tornado Windglider Division II Lechner A-390 Europe Mistral One Design Yngling RS:X Elliott 6m
Youth classes	Nacra 15 Techno 293
Former youth classes	Byte