How to qualify in Sailing
How sailors qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Sailing at Los Angeles 2028 has ten events. Men and women each race windsurfing, kite, dinghy and skiff; there is also a mixed dinghy and a mixed multihull. A country can have one boat per event, up to seven men and seven women.
Places are won by boat, for the country, in four steps:
- The 2027 Sailing World Championships, split in two: one-person boats in Fortaleza, Brazil (15 to 23 January 2027) and two-person boats in Gdynia, Poland (22 July to 1 August 2027).
- Continental qualification events, one or more places per continent in each event. Asia has four places in each dinghy event and one in each of the others.
- A Last Chance Regatta in 2028.
- Emerging nations places at the Last Chance Regatta in windsurfing and the dinghy.
The United States as host gets a boat in every event.
The places (boats per event)
| Event | World Championships 2027 | Africa | Asia | Central and South America | Europe | North America and Caribbean | Oceania | Last Chance Regatta | Emerging nations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's windsurfing | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Women's windsurfing | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Men's kite | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Women's kite | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Men's dinghy | 16 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Women's dinghy | 16 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Men's skiff | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Women's skiff | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Mixed dinghy | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Mixed multihull | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Men | Women | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quota places (athletes) | 156 | 156 | 312 |
| Host country | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Universality (dinghy) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 165 | 165 | 330 |
Where the document disagrees with itself. The summary box for the continental events gives 24 men's, 24 women's and 12 mixed boats (70). The table's numbers add up to the 156 athletes per gender.
Who can sail
- Registered World Sailing sailors.
- On the World Sailing ranking for their class at some point from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028.
- Raced in at least one qualification event, or in the 2026 or 2028 world championship for their class.
- Paid-up members of their class association, with third-party insurance of at least EUR 2 million if in charge of the boat.
- Under-18s need a signed parent or guardian consent form.
The steps
- World Championships: the best-placed countries in each event, in the numbers above.
- Continental events: the best-placed country from each continent not already qualified, in each event.
- Last Chance Regatta: the best-placed countries not yet qualified.
- Emerging nations: countries in World Sailing's Emerging Nations Programme not yet qualified, in the windsurfing and dinghy events at the Last Chance Regatta.
- Ties at a qualification event go to the boat with the better qualifying-series rank.
The host country
The United States gets one boat in each of the ten events, if it raced in that event at the 2027 World Championships or its continental event.
Universality places
Four, in the dinghy: two men, two women. The IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027, with a deadline of 15 January 2028.
Places turned down
World Championships, host and continental places go to the Last Chance Regatta for that event (continental places first to the next developing nation there). Last Chance Regatta places go to the next country there, then to the event's latest class world championship, then to the dinghy and windsurfing events. If a sailor is entered in two events, a spare place is added to the Last Chance Regatta.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 15 to 23 January 2027 | World Championships, one-person events, Fortaleza |
| 8 and 9 February 2027 | Places confirmed; Emerging Nations sailors confirmed |
| 22 July to 1 August 2027 | World Championships, two-person events, Gdynia |
| 13 August 2027 | Places confirmed |
| 1 October 2027 to 15 January 2028 | Universality requests |
| 2026 to 2028 (various) | Continental qualification events |
| 2028 (to be confirmed) | Last Chance Regatta |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
Where to follow it
sailing.org publishes results and quota places.